Some months ago there were questions being asked where Syria gets its new banknotes from. The 2009 issues (P112-P114) were printed by Oesterreichische Banknoten- und Sicherheitsdruck in Austria but due to sanctions by the EU against the Syrian regime, that printer was no longer available. Most people believed that the new printer would be Goznak, Russia’s biggest security printer. A fact flatly denied by the governor of the Syrian Central Bank (update: ...but which in the mean time has been confirmed by Goznak themselves).
But now new evidence has surfaced. Flight records show that massive amounts of cash have been flown from Russia to Syria. About 240 tons of banknotes to be precise! These are needed by the Syrian regime to cope with the international sanctions and to pay the war effort.
And then the banknote that will not be issued: the 3000 Rubel from Russia. Officials dismissed the rumors which had started on a website of a local politician. The idea was that this banknote would fill the gap between the 1000 and 5000 Rubel banknote. The 5000 Rubel being the last new banknote to be issued in Russia. But this banknote is virtually useless in daily payments due to lack of change in shops. The 3000 Rubel banknote might be a solution but not in the near future. A professor in graphic design made a design of the proposed banknote with scenes of Yekaterinburg on it. Quite a good looking note to be honest.
The Bank of Zambia has announced that the kwacha will be rebased by dividing it by 1,000, dropping three zeros off the currency, on January 1. Now Zambia has a K50,000 note, but this is worth less than $10. The Bank of Zambia said this resulted in inconvenience and risks in carrying large sums of money for transactions. It has also led to increasing difficulties in maintaining bookkeeping and statistical records, ensuring compatibility with data-processing software and higher costs in the payment system.
Zambia currently has banknotes for K20, K50, K100, K500, K1,000, K5,000, K10,000, K20,000 and K50,000. It has coins for K10, K5, K1, 50 ngwee and 25 ngwee. After January 1 there will be a new note series for K100, K50, K20, K10, K5 and K2 and coins for K1, 50 ngwee, 10 ngwee and five ngwee.
From July 1 next year, the old currency will not be accepted, but it will be exchangeable for a year thereafter for the new currency at the Bank of Zambia, commercial banks and designated agents. The new currency will get the symbol K. From July 1 2014 to December 31 2015, exchanges will be at the Bank of Zambia only and thereafter old currency will have no value. Click the popup to see the new banknotes:
First is the ten Rupees banknote from India. The Reserve Bank of India has announced that these will be gradually replaced by coins. The average life span of the 10 Rupees banknotes is 9-10 months. To have banknotes with such a short life span is not cost effective. At the same time they will begin to experiment with polymer banknotes to prolong the life of especially the lower denominations. Source
The Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue `10 denomination Banknotes with Rupee Symbol (`) on the obverse and the reverse, inset letter ‘A’ in both the numbering panels, in the Mahatma Gandhi Series-2005 bearing the signature of Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor , Reserve Bank of India, and the year of printing ‘2012’ printed on the reverse of the Banknote. The design of these notes to be issued now is similar in all respects to the `10 Banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi Series- 2005, issued earlier. All the Banknotes in the denomination of `10 issued by the Bank in the past will continue to be legal tender.
Tuesday I wrote about the 50 and 1000 Krona from Sweden which will become invalid after 31 December 2013. More news is available now from the website of the Swedish Central Bank, the Sveriges Riksbank. This is part of the preparations for the replacement of the current banknote series which will begin in 2015. From the website:
Schedule for the introduction of Sweden’s new banknotes and coins
31 December 2013 is the last date you can make payments using 50-krona and 1,000-krona banknotes that do not have foil strips.
October 2015 is when the new 20-krona, 50-krona, 200-krona and 1,000-krona banknotes will be issued.
30 June 2016 is the last date you can use the current 20-krona notes and the 50-krona and 1,000-krona banknotes that have foil strips.
October 2016 the new 100-krona and 500-krona banknotes will be issued, along with the 1-krona, 2-krona and 5-krona coins.
30 June 2017 is the last date you can pay using the current 100-krona and 500-krona banknotes with foil strips and the current 1-krona, 2-krona and 5-krona coins.
Sweden: 50-krona and 1,000-krona banknotes without foil strips will become invalid after 31 December 2013. Source: Sveriges Riksbank.
United Arab Emirates: the new 50 Dirhams note which was announced on 23 July 2012 has been issued dated 2011. It has a new 3-mm wide color-shifting security thread and it bears the new coat of arms which was adopted on 22 March 2008. Source: MRI Bankers' Guide.
The Bank of Israel has announced new banknotes. In the second half 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:
Azerbaijan is planning to issue new and larger denominations into the country. Right now they have banknotes of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 manat but notes of 200 and 500 manat have now been announced by the Central Bank of Azerbaijan. You can find more info on this website.
Yesterday I wrote about disappointing results for the parent company of Landqart Paper but they are not the only banknote printer who has worried investors with their results. De la Rue, the worlds biggest commercial printer of banknotes, has also published disappointing figures. In response its shares dropped 7%.
De la Rue commented on the figures by pointing out that orders have been delayed and can't be added to this fiscal year. They won't tell which orders, but a persistent rumour says De la Rue has secretly been printing Greek drachma banknotes which could be issued right away in case Greece is forced to leave the euro.
De la Rue is the world's largest commercial banknote printer and responsible for 150 currencies. That means 1 in 5 of every type of banknote being used in the world right now, is printed by De la Rue. Other printers can be found here.
The IBNS Netherlands will hold its annual fair on the 8th of December this year. Admission is free for members and €2 for non-members. After the fair the annual meeting will take place at which time a new board will be elected.
There are rumours Swiss banknote printer Landqart could be hived off by its Canada based parent company Fortress Paper. It would then be seperately listed at the London Stock Exchange. These rumours arose due to disappointing results by Fortress: it's banknote printing business lost C$8,9 million in the third quarter (about € 7 million). Fortress CEO Chad Wasilenkoff hinted at radical plans to combat the bad results.
Landqart is one of many banknote printers in the world. To get more information on banknote printers, check this list I have.
The new South African banknotes with Nelson Mandela continue to make the news. This time in the form of the painting below. Is it a representation of the coming zombiecalypse? According to artist Ayanda Mabulu his version of the new banknotes is a way to show how the gap between the rich and the poor of South Africa has widened.
I like the art of banknotes, but I'm not too sure about this one... I prefer the original version!
More info has come available on the new "Europa" series of euro banknotes which I wrote about yesterday. We already know the new €5 will be released first and then the €10 etc. The new note will be presented in full on 10 January 2013 and will be issued in May 2013.
So what's new? A number of security features have been updated and some of the design will be changed though that's still a little bit shrouded in mystery. The artist chosen for the updated design is Reinhold Gerstetter, an independant banknote designer from Berlin. He is best known for his work on the last series of German Marks (example of his 200 Mark, P47) and on the last series of Spanish Pesetas.
1. The first new feature is the incorporation of the image of the mythological figure of Europa. She will first be visible as a hologram in the silver stripe on the banknote. Next to the hologram is an image of a window and the value of the note:
2. The second novelty is the same image of Europa in the watermark:
3. Last new item: the number 5 will be in emerald green and will shift color when you tilt the banknote.
The European Central Bank is Thursday to present a plan for replacing current euro notes with safer ones from 2013, Hessischer Rundfunk reported Sunday. The second generation euro notes will still have values from five to €500, but motifs will change and improved security features will make forgery more difficult.
Hopefully this means that the new banknotes will also be less boring.
If there's more news today, this article will be updated.
Update:
ECB President Mario Draghi has indeed announced that the new series of euro banknotes will be released next year. This second series of the euro has been named the "Europa" series. It will include a portrait of the mythological figure Europa in the watermark and hologram. The new banknotes will be gradually introduced starting with the 5 euro note in May 2013. Apart from the watermark and hologram an emerald number and other modern security features will be incorporated in the new design.
The Europa series will have the same denominations as its predecessor: €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200 and €500, and they will be introduced in ascending order. They will circulate alongside the first series of euro notes but these will gradually be withdrawn and cease to be legal tender. The final design of the 5 euro banknote will be unveiled on 10 January 2013.
Hello, I'm Steven Bron and welcome to this special blog on banknotes with a space and astronomy theme! My primary focus is on notes that show astronomers and their work, solar systems, planets, constellation, space crafts, satellites, observatories, telescopes and so on. My goal is to describe every banknote from around the world with such a theme.
You can find my main blog on the world of banknotes by clicking here.
Disclaimer: most of the pictures on this blog are from Banknoteworld.com.
And then the banknote that will not be issued: the 3000 Rubel from Russia. Officials dismissed the rumors which had started on a 
The Bank of Zambia has announced that the kwacha will be rebased by dividing it by 1,000, dropping three zeros off the currency, on January 1. Now Zambia has a K50,000 note, but this is worth less than $10. The Bank of Zambia said this resulted in inconvenience and risks in carrying large sums of money for transactions. It has also led to increasing difficulties in maintaining bookkeeping and statistical records, ensuring compatibility with data-processing software and higher costs in the payment system.
First is the ten Rupees banknote from India. The Reserve Bank of India has announced that these will be gradually replaced by coins. The average life span of the 10 Rupees banknotes is 9-10 months. To have banknotes with such a short life span is not cost effective. At the same time they will begin to experiment with polymer banknotes to prolong the life of especially the lower denominations. 
Tuesday I wrote about the 50 and 1000 Krona from Sweden which will become invalid after 31 December 2013. More news is available now from the website of the Swedish Central Bank, the 
The Bank of Israel has 
Azerbaijan is planning to issue new and larger denominations into the country. 
Yesterday I 
The 
There are 
More info has come available on the new "Europa" series of euro banknotes which I wrote about 
ECB President Mario Draghi has indeed 
