Russian snowboarder appears to be from a stockphoto

Yesterday the Russian Central Bank officially presented the commemorative banknote of 100 rubles commemorating the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014. The front of the note shows the image of a snowboarder jumping in the air. The designer of the note, design student Paul Bushuev, said the image represented something new, youthful and modern.

Some bloggers however may have discovered the origin of the image. It wasn't designed by Bushuev himself but was taken from a free stockphoto site. The same image has also been used in an (oh sweet irony) online photoshop course and an advertisement for backpacks.

Paul Bushuev won the competition for designing the new note and was awarded 30,000 rubles (about 690 euro).

© volkskrant.nl

Steven Friday 01 November 2013 at 12:50 pm | | news | No comments

Pakistan to phase out old 50 and 1000 rupees notes

The State Bank of Pakistan has announced (PDF) it will phase out the old design 50 and 1000 rupees notes. The 50 rupees note was first issued in 1977 and the 1000 rupees in 1987.

The notes will remain legal tender after 1 November but the bank will stop issuing them from 1 November 2013.

50 rupees (1977)

© banknoteworld.com
© banknoteworld.com

1000 rupees (1987)

© banknoteworld.com
© banknoteworld.com

Steven Thursday 31 October 2013 at 08:16 am | | news | No comments
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Russia presents its Olympic commemorative banknote

With just 100 days to go until the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia has started the celebrations with events throughout the country. Russia's Central Bank has officially presented the new commemorative banknote as part of the celebrations. The design for the new note was already unveiled in March of this year.

Twenty-million of the blue 100 ruble notes will be produced, with a vertical design depicting a snowboarder and several of the venues in the Sochi Olympic Park.

Update: new image of the note taken from the official site. Note appears to be much more blue than in previous published photos.

Steven Wednesday 30 October 2013 at 4:42 pm | | news | No comments

Libya denies rumours of hidden symbols

The Central Bank of Libya (CBL) has denied rumours that hidden symbols, like the Jewish Star of David, can be found on the new 10 dinar note. The allegations were made by Congressman Tuati Al-Aidha on a local tv channel.

After the revolution, the CBL decided to make some changes to the 10 dinar banknote. Without altering specifications or security features, the  term "Jamahiriya" was removed and the star and the crescent of independence were  added.

picture from ebanknoteshop.com

Steven Wednesday 30 October 2013 at 10:21 am | | news | No comments
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Dominican Republic issues new 200 pesos dominicanos

MRI Bankers' guide reports that the first notes of 200 pesos dominicanos have been released by the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic. This move follows the decision made in 2010 that all banknotes dated 2011 will be denominated pesos dominicanos instead of the old name pesos oro.

The old pesos oro notes will remain valid and in circulation until all the old notes are replaced with the new ones. In the last series of banknotes the denominations of 100, 500, 1000 and 2000 pesos dominicanos have already been issued. With the issuing of the new 200 pesos dominicanos note only the 10, 20 and 50 pesos oro remain to be replaced.

Update: here is an image of the new note.

A video showing the new note: 

Steven Wednesday 30 October 2013 at 08:26 am | | news | No comments
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Maldives issues new 100 rufiyaa banknote

The Maldives Monetary Authority has announced the introduction of a new 100 rufiyaa banknote. The new note has updated security features compared to the last print of 100 rufiyaa banknotes in 2004. The old 100 rufiyaa notes will remain legal tender.

The new security features include:

  • a corner watermark with aslant lines on each corner of the note
  • a watermark highlight with the value 100 appearing in an additional bright watermark
  • a 3mm wide security thread with a "100 MMA" decorative pattern running continuously which changes colour from red to green according to the viewing angle
  • a new date and signature dated 20 Safar 1434, 2 January 2013 signed by Governor Dr Fazeel Najeeb.

The official presentation video after the click.

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Steven Wednesday 23 October 2013 at 09:43 am | | news | No comments
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European Union announces new 10 euro note

The European Central Bank has officially confirmed that a new 10 euro banknote will be issued in 2014. This will be the second in the new Europa series after the introduction of the new 5 euro earlier this year.

No word yet on the design of the note of course, but looking at the updated design of the new 5 euro note I wouldn't expect big changes.

Steven Wednesday 23 October 2013 at 09:30 am | | news | No comments
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Cuba to abolish two-currency system

Cuba has announced it will abolish the two-currency system currently being used in the country. From the BBC website:

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. Now its value will be gradually unified with the lower-value CUP, ending a system resented by ordinary Cubans.

The Cuban economy is almost entirely state-run and the tourism sector has boomed since the collapse of the Soviet Union plunged Cuba into economic isolation and hardship. The two-currency system was supposed to protect Cuba's fragile economy but angered locals paid in the much lower-value CUP and denied access to goods only available for those with convertible pesos.

The policy exacerbated the creation of a two-tier class system in Cuba which divided privileged Cubans with access to the lucrative tourist and foreign-trade sectors from those working in the local economy - all-too-visibly contradicting Cuba's supposedly egalitarian society. The council of ministers has approved a timetable for implementing "measures that will lead to monetary and exchange unification", the official Communist Party newspaper Granma said.

Unification is "imperative to guarantee the re-establishment of the Cuban peso's value and its role as money, that is as a unit of accounting, means of payment and savings", it said. It gave no details of how quickly the change would be implemented, though Reuters news agency quoted Cuban economists as saying it would take about 18 months.

© banknoteworld.com

Steven Wednesday 23 October 2013 at 09:23 am | | news | No comments
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Bulgaria to replace 2 levs note with coin

The Bulgarian National Bank has announced that it will replace the 2 levs note with a coin. The reason for this move is to cut costs. Printing the 2 levs note provides for 1.2 million losses annually. The announcement for the replacement of the note with a coin came together with the announcement that the BNB has signed a joint venture printing deal with François-Charles Oberthur International SA. Oberthur is the worlds third largest banknote producer, printing banknotes for more than 70 countries. 

No date has been given when the 2 levs note will be replaced. 

© banknoteworld.com

Steven Wednesday 23 October 2013 at 09:09 am | | news | No comments
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French Pacific Territories get new banknotes in 2014

Wallis and FutunaFrench PolynesiaNew CaledoniaIt's not every day we hear news from the French Pacific Territories. The special collectivities of France are a group of island nations in the Pacific and its banknotes are issued by the Institut d'Emission d'Outre-Mer (IEOM). The Territories consist of French PolynesiaNew Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna. The design of the banknotes hadn't changed much since 1969 but that is about to change. The IEOM has announced that new banknotes with a brand new design will be issued from 20 January 2014. 

The colorful new banknotes will show elements from the islands' cultural and natural heritage. They will be issued in denominations of 500, 1000, 5000 and 10,000 francs. The old and new notes will circulate side by side for a very limited time until 30 September 2014. From 1 October 2014 only the new notes will be legal tender. 

> Flyer with more information
> Video with information about the security features

500 francs

1000 francs

5000 francs

10,000 francs

Steven Tuesday 22 October 2013 at 08:28 am | | news | No comments

India to issue updated 10 rupees

The Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue (press release) a new 10 rupees note incorporating the rupee symbol on the obverse and reverse, without inset letter in both the numbering panels, in the Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005 bearing the signature of Dr. Raghuram G. Rajan, Governor, Reserve Bank of India, and the year of printing '2013' printed on the reverse of the banknote.

The design of these notes to be issued is similar to the 10 rupees banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi Series issued in 2005. All the banknotes in the denomination of 10 rupees issued by the RBI in the past will continue to be legal tender.

(images below from the 2009 version of the 10 rupees note)

Steven Friday 18 October 2013 at 09:02 am | | news | No comments
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Fiji wins Best Regional Banknote of the Year Award

The Reserve Bank of Fiji has won (press release) the Best Regional Banknote of the Year Award for the new flora and fauna series. At the Reconnaissance International Limited Asian Middle East and African High Security Printing Seminar (what a name!) the award was presented to the Deputy Governor of the RBF, mr. Inia Naiyaga.

The whole series which went into circulation on 2 January 2013 is indeed beautiful and can be admired in this post I wrote in December 2012.

Steven Tuesday 15 October 2013 at 09:16 am | | news | No comments
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USA issues new 100 dollar

The USA have finally issued the new version of one of the most used banknotes in the world: the 100 dollar note. There were several problems in the production process but the world now has a new Benjamin.

The new note features several new security features and design updates. Most noticeable are the 3D blue ribbon and the colour changing seal with the Liberty Bell. Below are links to educational material from the official NewMoney.gov site.

The site mba-in-finance.org has compiled some interesting facts about US money. Big image after the click:

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Steven Tuesday 08 October 2013 at 08:21 am | | news | No comments
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Is this the new commemorative note from Lebanon?

What at first glance appears to be a bad photoshop job is rumoured to be the new commemorative note from Lebanon. The 50,000 livre note is supposed to come out on Independence Day, 22 November 2013. The pictures below are from banknotenews.com who got them from the eBay-seller mentioned in the watermark.

I don't know about this one. The design seems very amateuristic to say the least. We'll have to wait for an official announcement by the Central Bank of Lebanon I guess.

Steven Friday 04 October 2013 at 08:36 am | | news | No comments
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Solomon Islands issue new 50 dollar note

The Central Bank of the Solomon Islands has issued a new banknote of 50 dollar according to this article. This is the first banknote of a new series. The Bank said the redesigned note is expected to bring a whole new dimension and sophistication in terms of design durability and security features. The note is designed and made bij De la Rue. From their website:

"On the front of the note, local basket weave designs are intended to represent the swirling movement of shoals of fish whilst indigenous fauna and flora - including an iguana, lizard and snake - are shown on the back.  The most prominent security feature is De La Rue's Optiks super wide security thread with a transparent window."

The picture below from banknotenews.com is the only one I've found so far. What is that with Central Banks and the introduction of new notes? A picture says more than a thousand words!

Steven Tuesday 01 October 2013 at 09:38 am | | news | No comments
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