Barbados presents new banknotes

The Central Bank of Barbados has presented its new series of banknotes. The new banknotes will be available to the public from 4 June 2013. From the press release:

Governor Dr. DeLisle Worrell said of the revamped design, "We've kept some of the more popular elements so that people can still easily identify the denominations, but we've modernised the look, made it more Barbadian, and made the notes easier to authenticate."

Design
All denominations remain the same colour: $2 – blue, $5 – green, $10 – brown, $20 – purple, $50- orange and green, and $100 – grey, red and blue; and the portraits remain the same. Overall, though, the notes have a new look. Bold waves now make up the base of the new design, which on the front also includes images of the Coat of Arms, the broken trident, the map of Barbados, and the familiar portraits of John Redman Bovell, Sir Frank Worrell, the Right Excellent Charles Duncan O’Neal, the Right Excellent Samuel Jackman Prescod, the Right Excellent Errol Barrow, and the Right Excellent Sir Grantley Adams. Another new feature on the front of the notes is an area near the top left of the note with raised marks to help the visually impaired identify the value of each note. One dot represents the $2 note, two dots the $5, three dots the $10, four dots the $20, five dots the $50, and six dots the $100 note.

The backs of the notes now feature six different images, each linked to the portrait on the front. For John Redman Bovell, a pioneer of the sugar industry, the $2 has a vignette of Morgan Lewis Windmill. The $5, which has the portrait of former West Indies cricket captain Sir Frank Worrell, has 3Ws Oval, and the $10 portrays Charles Duncan O’Neal Bridge. In honour of the Right Excellent Samuel Jackman Prescod, the first coloured man in the House of Assembly, the $20 bears a vignette of one of the Parliament buildings. The $50 depicts Independence Square, including the statue of the Right Excellent Errol Barrow; and the $100 honours the Right Excellent Sir Grantley Adams with a view of the Grantley Adams International Airport.

Security features
In addition to the new design of the notes, major changes have been made to the security features. The map of Barbados watermark, which has been found on all denominations since 1973, has been replaced by six distinct watermarks – the image of the person featured on that denomination’s portrait. Below the main watermark is a second, smaller one that shows the note’s value in numbers. The security thread on the lower denominations - $2, $5 and $10 – remains the same wave-like silver line that is on current banknotes, but the $20, $50 and $100 have a new wide thread that changes from red to green when the note is tilted. Both types of thread weave in and out of the paper and have “CBB” and the denomination printed on them. For all denominations, when the note is held up to the light, the thread becomes a complete line from the top to the bottom of the note.

Under ultraviolet light, the waves in the centre of the $2, $5 and $10 glow and tiny fibres spread throughout the note fluoresce blue-yellow-blue. On the $20, $50 and $100, the waves fluoresce two different colours – pink and green on the $20, green and yellow on the $50, and yellow and green on the $100 – and tiny pink fibres glow. On the right side of the two highest denominations, the foil patches have been replaced with holograms. On the $50, the hologram features the pelican prominently along with broken tridents, Pride of Barbados flowers and the numeral "50"; while on the $100, the main image is the dolphin, along with broken tridents, Pride of Barbados flowers and the numeral "100". When the note is tilted, the images on the hologram shift.

The Bank advises that all banknotes issued since 1973 remain legal tender and that Barbadians should continue to use them.

$2

$5

$10

$20

$50

$100

Steven Friday 03 May 2013 at 09:08 am | | news | No comments
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Stephen Poloz new governor Bank of Canada

The Bank of Canada has announced that Stephen S. Poloz will be appointed Governor of the Bank of Canada for a seven-year term, starting 3 June 2013. He will will succeed Mark Carney, who is leaving the Bank of Canada on 1 June 2013 to become governor of the Bank of England.

It is unclear at the moment whether the signature of Mark Carney or that of Stephen Poloz will be on the recently presented new 5 and 10 dollar banknotes.

Poloz on the left, Carney on the right

Steven Friday 03 May 2013 at 08:59 am | | news | No comments
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Barbados unveils its new banknotes today

News from Barabados: "The Central Bank of Barbados will today unveil a new family of Barbadian banknotes – for the first time since the institution issued notes in 1973. The launch of the new series coincides with the Bank’s 41st birthday. The new notes have the same value as the current series, but will feature modern designs and upgraded security features.

De La Rue Limited printed the bills and representatives from this British-based company will be on the island for the launch. The new banknotes will be unveiled during a function at the Grande Salle, Tom Adams Financial Centre starting at 11 a.m. The event will be streamed live on the Bank’s website, centralbank.org.bb"

Further details to come.

Steven Thursday 02 May 2013 at 08:39 am | | news | No comments
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ECB issues new 5 euro banknote today

The European Central Bank (ECB) has introduced the new 5 euro banknote today. It's the first issue of the second series of euro banknotes. The new series has the same "ages and styles" design and dominant colours as the first series. The second series has a watermark and hologram display a portrait of Europa, a figure from Greek mythology – and hence the name of this series of banknotes. It also includes some new and enhanced security features. An eye-catching "emerald number" changes colour from emerald green to deep blue and displays an effect of the light that moves up and down.

The other denominations, i.e. €10, €20, €50, €100, €200 and €500, will be introduced over the next few years, in ascending order. The first series will initially circulate alongside the new banknotes, but will gradually be withdrawn and eventually cease to be legal tender. The date when this occurs will be announced well in advance. However, the banknotes of the first series will retain their value indefinitely and can be exchanged at euro area national central banks at any time.

Some downloads:

  • Pictures (zip - < 1 MB)
  • Press Kit (pdf)
  • Footage of the new €5 banknote (design and security features) (zip - 357 MB)
  • Footage of the production of the new €5 banknote (zip - 918 MB)
© European Central Bank
© European Central Bank

Steven Thursday 02 May 2013 at 08:08 am | | news | No comments
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Mexico will change the design of the 50 peso note

The Bank of Mexico will present changes to the 50 peso banknote, according to this article on CNN Mexico. The presentation is scheduled for 6 May 2013. To be continued...

(source)

Steven Wednesday 01 May 2013 at 1:35 pm | | news | No comments
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Israel presents two new banknotes

The Bank of Israel has unveiled the design for two new banknotes. At the end of 2013 the first two new banknotes will be issued: 50 NIS and 200 NIS (NIS = New Israeli Shekel). Two other notes of 20 NIS and 100 NIS will be released in the beginning of 2014. The following list shows the new design features and links to additional information on the people who's portraits are used:

 
NIS 20
NIS 50
NIS 100
NIS 200
Portrait
Dominant color:
Red
Green
Orange
Blue
Size (in mm)
129x71
136x71
143x71
150x71
 
The newly designed 50 and 200 NIS have now been unveiled.
 
50 NIS
 
200 NIS

Steven Wednesday 01 May 2013 at 09:31 am | | news | No comments
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Canada presents new 5 and 10 dollar

The Bank of Canada unveiled the design for the new 5 and 10 dollar banknotes yesterday 30 April 2013. Like the rest of the series they're made of polymer. Below are the designs and more details on the banknotes itself. In my humble opinion they look absolutely stunning! When they're issued in November 2013 they would make a nice birthday present... (wink wink). Because of the space theme of the 5 dollar note, the note was unveiled from the International Space Station.

The 5 dollar note highlights Canada’s technological achievements and contributions to the international space program. The 10 dollar note depicts the joining of the East and West of Canada by rail.

5 dollar

Portrait: Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Prime Minister from 1896 to 1911
Signatures: T. Macklem, M. J. Carney
Size: 152.4 x 69.85 mm

10 dollar

Portrait: Sir John A. Macdonald, Prime Minister from 1867–1873 and 1878–1891
Signatures: T. Macklem, M. J. Carney
Size: 152.4 x 69.85 mm

Steven Wednesday 01 May 2013 at 08:02 am | | news | No comments
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Canada unveils new 5 and 10 dollar on 30 April 2013

The Bank of Canada will unveil the last two banknotes of the new series, the 5 and 10 dollar, on 30 April 2013. This was already known but now there is more news regarding the themes of the new notes. The news from the official website:

Canada’s new $5 and $10 bank notes – the final notes in the Polymer series, will be unveiled during an official ceremony at the Bank of Canada’s head office in Ottawa on Tuesday, 30 April 2013 at 12:15 (Eastern Time).

Joining Governor Mark Carney to speak at the event will be Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty, Paul G. Smith, Chairman of the Board of VIA Rail Canada, and a representative from the Canadian Space Agency.

At the conclusion of the event, Minister Flaherty, Governor Carney, Mr. Smith and a Canadian Space Agency representative will participate in a photo opportunity with the new $5 and $10 polymer notes. Members of the media will also have an opportunity to meet with representatives from the Bank of Canada, VIA Rail Canada and the Canadian Space Agency to learn more about the themes, as well as the security and durability features, of the new bills.

Seeing who are invited for the photo opportunities (somebody from VIA Rail Company and somebody from the Canadian Space Agency) you can pretty much guess what the themes of the new banknotes will be. The colours are also almost sure: blue for the 5 dollar and purple for the 10 dollar. The new notes will be put into circulation at the end of 2013.

Steven Saturday 27 April 2013 at 9:06 pm | | news | No comments
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Sir Winston Churchill to feature on new £5 banknote

The Bank of England has announced that former prime minister Sir Winston Churchill  (1874-1965) will feature on the new 5 pound banknote.  Bank of England Governor, Sir Mervyn King, made the announcement, and revealed the image of Churchill which will be used, to members of the Churchill family at Chartwell, Churchill’s former home. Churchill will replace the current face of the 5 pound note, social reformer Elizabeth Fry who has been on the banknote since 2002. 

Commenting on the choice, the Governor said:  "Our banknotes acknowledge the life and work of great Britons.  Sir Winston Churchill was a truly great British leader, orator and writer.  Above that, he remains a hero of the entire free world.  His energy, courage, eloquence, wit and public service are an inspiration to us all.  I am proud to announce that he will appear on our next banknote."

The plan is for the Churchill note to be issued as a £5 note, and that it shall be issued during 2016; but those choices may be reviewed as plans for issuing the new note are finalised.  Features of the design on the reverse of the note will include:

  • A portrait of Winston Churchill from a photograph taken in Ottawa by Yousuf Karsh on 30 December 1941.
  • A view of Westminster and the Elizabeth Tower from the South Bank looking across Westminster Bridge, acknowledging that for almost sixty years Westminster was Churchill’s life.
  • The image of the Elizabeth Tower with the hands of the Great Clock at 3 o’clock – the approximate time on 13 May 1940 when Sir Winston Churchill declared in a speech to the House of Commons:  "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." This declaration is quoted beneath the portrait.
  • A background image of the Nobel Prize medal which he was awarded in 1953 for literature, together with the wording of the prize citation. Churchill was awarded the Nobel prize for literature ‘for his mastery of historical and biographical description as well as for brilliant oratory in defending exalted human values’.  Although Churchill was a prolific writer, the Nobel prize acknowledged the power and effect of his inspirational oratory as much as the quality of his literary output which ranged from journalism to works of academic standing.  His writings include The Second World War (1948-53) and A History of the English Speaking Peoples (1956-8). 

A short bio on Winston Churchill (yes, he is somewhat of a hero to me, so forgive this lengthy article):

After an early career as a soldier and war correspondent, Churchill was elected as a Conservative MP in 1901, but joined the Liberals after the Conservative Party split over free trade.  Having served as President of the Board of Trade, Home Secretary, and First Lord of the Admiralty where he helped modernise the navy, he returned to the army, serving on the Western Front, in 1916.  Back in Parliament in 1924, he served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Stanley Baldwin’s Conservative government.  After the fall of the government in 1929 he did not hold office for a decade, his so-called 'Wilderness Years'.  He warned of the threat of German re-armament and returned to public life as First Lord of the Admiralty on the outbreak of the Second World War.

In May 1940 he became Prime Minister, replacing Neville Chamberlain and leading the newly-formed National Government.  In his first speech to the new Administration he declared:  "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat."  And concluded with:  "Come then, let us go forward together with our united strength."  Both are examples of the brilliance of his oratory. Winston Churchill became a patriotic icon, exemplar of leadership and a national inspiration during the Second World War.  Defeated in the post-victory 1945 general election, he argued strongly for Western unity against the threat of Communism.  He was returned to office in 1951 and finally retired in 1955, aged 80.
 
Churchill’s leadership qualities earned him a vast international following, especially in the United States where he was given the singular honour of being granted honorary US citizenship (in 1963) and in 1999 became the first Briton to have a US warship named after him.  He has been portrayed on the postage stamps of 150 nations.
 
Chartwell, the family home in Kent, which he purchased in 1922, was where he was able to relax and enjoy family life and the company of friends.  It was there that his lifelong love of the land and animals found fulfilment on his smallholding, which included goats, pigs, birds and butterflies.  His other interests ranged from painting to bricklaying, but it was writing which provided the constant thread throughout his life and a source of income.  In 1953 he was awarded the Nobel prize for literature.
 
In the course of his lifetime Churchill received thirty-seven orders, decorations and medals including Companion of Honour (1922), Order of Merit (1946), and Order of the Garter (1953). He died on 24 January 1965 and was given a state funeral, the first commoner to be so honoured since Gladstone in 1898.  He was also the first commoner to be portrayed on a British coin – the 1965 crown or five shilling piece.

Steven Friday 26 April 2013 at 2:28 pm | | news | No comments

USA releases issue date for new 100 dollar

The US Federal Reserve Board has officially announced that the newly designed 100 dollar note will be issued on 8 October 2013. The new note will have several new security features, like a blue 3D ribbon.

The new banknote had been plagued by production problems. More information on the new banknote can be found on the official site newmoney.gov or check out the video the Federal Reserve made below:

Steven Thursday 25 April 2013 at 08:04 am | | news | No comments
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Nigeria cancels production of polymer notes

The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced it will stop the production of polymer notes and will return to paper banknotes. The main reason for this step is the fading of the banknotes, especially the smaller denominations. The Central Bank had organised numerous campaigns educating the public on the use of banknotes but apparently to no avail.

The deputy governor has announced that production of new polymer notes has already been cancelled. By the middle of of 2013 the bank will begin producing paper money again, starting with the lower denominations.

Update 27 November 2013: read here.

Steven Tuesday 23 April 2013 at 08:05 am | | news | No comments
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New security features for Polish banknotes

After a few days vacation during which I haven't seen a single new banknote (partly because I never crossed the border) I've now returned for some catching up.

For instance with the news from Poland where the National Bank of Poland plans to issue banknotes with new security features in April next year. Apart from the updated security features the design of these banknotes (with portraits of Polish monarchs from the past) will remain the same.

Steven Tuesday 23 April 2013 at 07:51 am | | news | No comments
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Papua New Guinea withdraws all paper notes

The Bank of Papua New Guinea has announced that all paper kina banknotes will be withdrawn by June 2013. After June 2013 these notes will no longer be legal tender. The bank has been announcing to the public that paper banknotes denominations K2, K5, K10, K20, K50 and K100 as well as the K2 coin will be removed from circulation. In their place will be the polymer or plastic notes in the same denominations. Polymer notes in circulation will continue.

More info in this article.

Steven Thursday 11 April 2013 at 11:41 am | | news | No comments
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Turkey announces new 5, 50 and 200 lira

The Central Bank of Turkey has announced the introduction of a new 5 lira banknote. The traditional brown colour will be replaced by purple. Apart from the new 5 lira note, the 50 and 200 lira will also be changed but they will only get new signatures. The dimensions and colours of the notes will remain the same.

The following signatures will be shown on the new banknotes:

  • 5 lira: deputy governor Mehmet Yörükoglu along with governor Erdem Basci
  • 50 lira:  deputy governor Turalay Kenc along with governor Erdem Basci
  • 200 lira: deputy governor Mehmet Yörükoglu along with governor Erdem Basci

The new banknotes will be in circulation from 8 April 2013.

© www.turkeycurrency.net

Steven Wednesday 03 April 2013 at 08:15 am | | news | No comments
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New Afghan banknotes announced?

A story on Afghan website Khaama.com claims that Afghanistan has issued new Afghani banknotes for the amount of 100 billion afghanis:

"Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) officials on Tuesday announced that fresh banknotes amounting to one hundred billion Afghanis have recently been printed. DAB officials also informed that the latest specifications have been placed in the new banknotes in a bid to make it easier to differentiate from the fake notes. The officials also added that the Central Bank of Afghanistan remains committed to meet the needs and issues of th Afghan market.

The new bank notes are due to be distributed in accordance with the market demands, DAB officials said adding that the new banknotes have been printing considering the needs of the market for the next five years. A British firm was contracted to print the new Afghan bank notes and the contract was reportedly given to the firm against $20 million. According to reports the Afghan government has also ordered to print another one hundred million Afghanis and the new bank notes will be printed as per the demands of the Afghan market. In the meantime deputy governor for the Central Bank of Afghanistan Khan Afzal Hadawal said the new specifications of the bank notes will remain confidential with the bank while some of the specifications will be made public in the near future. This comes as the residents of Kabul city and other provinces of Afghanistan including the business owners complained of facing issues with the fake bank notes in the market."

No more information is available at the moment.

Steven Tuesday 02 April 2013 at 3:47 pm | | news | No comments
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