Gambia to issue new commemorative note and new series

It was already announced in November 2014 and was expected to be issued before the end of the year, but it seems that the new commemorative 20-dalasi note will finally be issued on 2 March 2015. And not only that: the Central Bank of the Gambia will introduce a whole new series on 30 March 2015 including a new 200-delasi note. Update 05-04-2015: the new family of notes is delayed until 15 April 2015.

From the press release: "Commemorative D20.00 Polymer Banknote. This is the first series of Polymer Banknotes to be issued by the CBG and is intended, among other things, to Commemorate 20 Years of the July 22nd Revolution and to be in line with international best practice.

The Polymer Banknote is based on the existing D25.00 note and therefore similar in many aspects except that the colour background of the D20 Polymer banknote is green and bears the portrait of the President, H.E. Sheikh Professor Alhagie Dr. Yahya. A. J. J. Jammeh. The polymer banknotes have a date of 22nd July 2014 with the words “20 Years of Progress and Self-Reliance” written on the centre bottom of the obverse side of the note. Few critical changes were made to incorporate security features that are unique to only polymer notes to enhance the overall security level of the denomination. However, both the polymer and the current D25.00 notes shall be in circulation side by side and the latter will continue to be legal tender and be in circulation until it is fully withdrawn over time.

Furthermore, the CBG will introduce into circulation a New Family of paper base Gambian Banknotes for all other denominations except the D25.00 which will be replaced by the D20.00 note. These notes will include a New D200.00 denomination. A fundamental distinction is that all the notes are smaller in size and all of them bear the portrait of the President. This new family of banknotes will be circulated nationwide along with the existing banknote family of D100.00, D50.00, D25.00, D10.00 and D5.00 until these are fully withdrawn overtime."

Update: better pictures of the 20-delasis note from banknotenews.com.

Thailand to issue a new 100-baht note

The Bank of Thailand has issued a press release stating that on 26 February 2015 a new banknote of 100 baht will be issued. 

I'm particularly happy with this news, because after the flood of commemorative notes we finally get to see a 'normal' note again. Thailand is a personal favourite country to collect so I'm definitely getting this one for my collection. The pictures below are from banknotenews.com. 

The front of the note shows the familiar face of King Bhumibol while the reverse pays hommage to King Taksin the Great.

As a little side note: here's an interesting link on the collection of Jan Olav Aamlid who apparently is also writing a book on the history of Thai banknotes.

Argentina still plans to issue new 50-peso note?

Remember the special Malvinas / Falklands banknote Argentina was supposed to issue at the end of 2014? Well, the end of the year came and went, but no new note. I had already skipped it from my calendar because I didn't believe anymore the note would actually be issued. 

But to my surprise there is now a site from the Central Bank of Argentina describing the new note. An issue date is still not mentioned but it does say that the new notes will coexist along with the current notes. Another surprise is the picture they show of the new note. Subtle differences can be spotted, like the number 50 inside the sun (where in previous images it showed a smiling face).

I'm putting this note back on the calendar! Let's just say it will probably be issued "later this year". The note will be issued next March.

ECB presents new 20 euro note

The European Central Bank (ECB) has presented the new 20 euro note, the third note in the new Europa series. The new note will be issued to the public on 25 November 2015. 

The new note includes an innovative security feature in the form of a "portrait window" set in the hologram. When the banknote is held against the light, the window becomes transparent and reveals a portrait of the mythological figure Europa, visible on both sides of the note. The new €20 banknote, like the new €5 and €10 notes, also includes an "emerald number" and a portrait of Europa in the watermark.

President Draghi said: "The portrait window is a real innovation in banknote technology. It is the outcome of the Eurosystem’s work to ensure that the euro notes continue to be resilient against counterfeiting. This will reinforce the trust that the 338 million citizens across the euro area place in their banknotes."

And here's a cool video showing all the new features of the new 20 euro note. 

Australia to issue notes with features for the blind

The Reserve Bank of Australia has issued a press release stating that in the next generation of banknotes features to aid the vision impaired will be introduced. 

"As previously announced, existing features to help the vision impaired tell the difference between different denominations of Australian banknotes will be maintained on the new series. These include: bright colours; large and bold numbers; and different sizes for each denomination of banknote. The Bank will also continue to fund the production of the 'cash test card'. The addition of a 'tactile' feature will further assist people with a vision impairment to tell the difference between denominations."

The campaign for this new series of banknotes was led by 13-year-old Connor McLeod, along with the members of the visually impaired community. In May last year McLeod, who is legally blind, lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission against the RBA’s current banknotes, arguing it discriminates against the 300,000 visually impaired people people in Australia. After receiving money for Christmas, and being embarrassed for not being able to tell how much it was, McLeod began a petition for the new banknotes, which attracted to 57,000 signatures and led a meeting with the RBA last November, prompting the this week’s announcement by the RBA. (source)

Kurdistan to issue its own banknotes?

Numismatic News has an interesting article about the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Turkey who want to issue their own money in the areas they control (southeastern Turkey (Northern Kurdistan), northern Syria (Western Kurdistan), northern Iraq (Southern Kurdistan), and western Iran (Eastern Kurdistan)). It's interesting to see that at the same time ISIS (or IS) also have plans to issue their own money but won't issue any banknotes in contrast to the plans of the PKK.

Below is an image that is supposed to be the new Kurdish money, picturing their captive leader Abdullah Öcalan.

Sweden reveals new banknotes

The Sveriges Riksbank has revealed the final design of the new banknote series. The 20, 50, 200 and 1,000 krona banknotes will become legal tender on 1 October 2015. The 100 and 500 krona banknotes will become legal tender in 1 October 2016. 

The following themes and portraits are used:

• 20 kronor: Astrid Lindgren (writer), Småland, issued 1 October 2015
• 50 kronor: Evert Taube (writer, composer, singer), Bohuslän, issued 1 October 2015
• 100 kronor: Greta Garbo (actrice), Stockholm, issued 3 October 2016
• 200 kronor: Ingmar Bergman (director, producer, writer), Gotland, issued 1 October 2015
• 500 kronor: Birgit Nilsson (soprano), Skåne, issued 3 October 2016
• 1000 kronor: Dag Hammarskjöld (diplomat, economist, writer), Lapland, issued 1 October 2015

Update 23-10-2015: on this site you can admire some of the designs that didn't make it.

Dutch town issues its own local money

Local money can be found all over the world. Soon also in the Dutch town of Alphen aan den Rijn. Denominations of 5, 10 and 25 alpha's (cool name!) will be issued which can be spend at selected shops in town or in exchange for particular services provided in the city. This is of course done to promote the local economy. The 'banknotes' will get all the basic security features and are traceable.

Looking at the images of the alpha's below I got the sense they might've been inspired by the recent Norwegian designs.

Belarus 'considering' 500,000 ruble banknote

The site Belarusian News mentions that the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus is considering issuing a new 500,000 ruble banknote. "We consider issuing a new banknote valued at Br500,000. The final decision will be made taking into account the current economic situation and will be announced by the National Bank in advance," the bank said.

This is however not the first rumour from Belarus (see here and here) so we'll just have to wait and see if there's any real value to this story.

Bangladesh keeps its 1 and 2 taka notes

Bangladesh will keep its 1 and 2 taka notes despite reports stating otherwise from earlier this week. This was announced by Finance Minister AMA Muhith. On monday he reported that the 1 and 2 taka notes (which are issued by the Ministry of Finance in contrast to the other banknotes which are issued by the Central Bank) would be gradually withdrawn from the market.

Now he has stated however that "they will cease to exist if people stop using them". There are also coins available with a denomination of 1 and 2 taka but as it seems these two notes aren't going anywhere soon.

Cambodia issues new notes of 100 and 500 riels

According to the Khmer Times the National Bank of Cambodia has issued two new banknotes of 100 and 500 riels:  

"The 100 riels note depicts the King Father as a young monk on the front, the Silver Palace on the back and a Khmer statue as the watermark. The new 500 riel note will feature King Sihamoni on the front, the Kizuna bridge on the back and the Nak Loeung Bridge as the watermark. Both bridges are Japan-financed and their depiction on the banknote remarks on the good ties between Cambodia and Japan."

Update 19-01-2015: And of course there is some controversy because people feel offended...

Cuba to introduce higher denominations in February

In 2013 the Central Bank of Cuba announced it would abolish the two-currency system. Since 1994 Cuba has had two currencies, one pegged to the US dollar and the other worth only a fraction of that. The more valuable convertible peso (CUC) was reserved for use in the tourism sector and foreign trade. 

In October 2014 I wrote about the need for higher denominations to go ahead with this plan. It has now been announced what this means. Right now the highest denomination is 100 pesos which is only about 4 US dollars. From 1 February 2015 notes of 200, 500 and 1,000 pesos will start to circulate.  

Cape Verde issues second batch of new banknotes

After the first three new banknotes of 200, 1,000 and 2,000 escudos were issued in December 2014, the second batch of new notes have been issued on 2 January 2015. These are the 500 and 5,000 escudos notes.

The new 500 escudo note honours Jorge Barbosa (1902-1971), writer and a founder of the "Claridade" literary movement as well as his home island, Santiago.

The 5,000 escudo note depicts the first president of Cabo Verde Aristides Maria Pereira (president from 1975 to 1991), who died on 22 September 2011, and his native island, Boa Vista.

Sadly I have no pictures yet. Seriously: if you put out new banknotes, wouldn't you want to show them proudly on the website of your national bank??

Maldives announces commemorative note for 2015

The Maldives Monetary Authority has, according to HaveeruOnline, announced that 28 designers have been selected to submit their proposals for a new commemorative banknote due to be issued in 2015 to commemorate Maldives’ 50th year of Independence.

"The central bank said on Friday that with the 28 proposals, it will begin its evaluation.

According to the MMA, the best proposals will be shortlisted and the Authority will contact the shortlisted artists by the 11th of January. The artists will be asked to produce a 15-minute presentation and will go through an interview on the 15th. The top three artists will be chosen to design the bank notes by the 19th.

The artists will have to present a final design by the 17th of February. MMA said that all dates – other than the deadline – is subject to change but that the artists will be given due notification of said changes."

An exact date of issue is not mentioned but the Maldives gained independence on 26 July 1965 so we can expect the new note around July I think.

Ukraine announces new 100 hryvnia banknote

The National Bank of Ukraine has announced (Google translate) a new 100 hryvnia banknote to be issued on 9 March 2015. The redesigned note will have added security features like a windowed security thread and a SPARK patch. The front of the note shows the image of poet and artist Taras Shevchenko (1814 – 1861). 

Images of the new note and the presentation: