The Central Bank of Turkmenistan has issued a commemorative series of banknotes, commemorating 25 years of neutrality. They used the existing series for this issue but with an added logo consisting of two flags, a dove, a globe and the phrase "Turkmenistan: A Land of Neutrality."
That's one of the nice things about collecting banknotes: you learn something new every day. Who would've thought that Turkmenistan was like some sort of Switzerland? (Spoiler alert: it's not)
Remember the announcement by President Obama that anti-slavery activist Harriet Tubman would be the next face on the 20-dollar banknote replacing President Andrew Jackson? Well, that nice idea was shelved by his successor President T***p because... well, racism of course.
But since we now have a sane person in the White House again, Harriet Tubman is back on the table! White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters the Treasury was "exploring ways to speed up" the process. The move would make Harriet Tubman the first African American to appear on a US banknote, and the first woman for more than 100 years. I think that's great news!
(And now, angry mails from MAGA-idiots in 3-2-1...)
The Central Bank of Syria has issued a new 5,000-pound banknote which looks like ... the thing below. Every year the Banknote of the Year is chosen but I'm willing to bet this one won't be a winner.
Did someone leave a sketch on a copying machine? Which was almost without ink?
On the front, the banknote depicts a young Lapulapu, an image of the Battle of Mactan, the QCP logo, and the Karaoka, the large outrigger warships used by native Filipinos.
The back of the note shows the Philippine eagle, or the Manaol, which symbolizes clear vision, freedom, and strength; and which embodies the ancient Visayan belief that all living creatures originated from an eagle.
Also featured are the tree of a coconut, which was food the people of Samar provided to Ferdinand Magellan and his crew; and Mount Apo, which is located in Mindanao, where the circumnavigators finally found directional clues to their intended destination of Maluku or the Spice Island.
The Central Bank of Oman has issued a new series of banknotes on 12 January 2021. This was necessary because the old ruler Sultan Qaboes bin Said Al Said has died and his cousin Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said has succeeded him.
I think the new series looks beautiful. If I were to design a new series for an Arabic country, it probably would look a lot like this in regards to the colors, the themes and the images.
The Peninsula reports that the Qatar Central Bank will issue new banknotes from 18 December 2020. The new series will have denominations of 1-, 5-, 10-, 50-, 100-, 200-, and 500-riyals.
The themes per banknote:
1 riyal: traditional dhow (bateel) and the Oyster and Pearl Monument
5 riyal: a desert scene with Arab horses, camel, oryxes), flora (Al Qataf) and a hair tent (buryuut hajar)
10 riyal: Lusail Stadium, Torch Tower (Aspire Zone), Sidra Medicine and Education City (Qatar Foundation)
50 riyal: Qatar Central Bank building and Ministry of Finance building
100 riyal: Abu Al Qubaib Mosque
200 riyal: Palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani, Qatar National Museum and Museum of Islamic Art
500 riyal: Ras Laffan LNG refinery and LNG canter ship
The Central Bank of Lebanon has issued a new 100,000-livres banknote on 7 December 2020. The note commemorates the 100th anniversary of Greater Lebanon.
The interesting thing about this note is that it is the first banknote in the world using Cinema and Vivid security features. If you look at the video on the Cinema website, you can see how cool it is. Looking forward to see what Lebanon has done with this technique!
The Bank of Thailand has announced it will issue two commemorative banknotes on 12 December 2020 to commemorate the Royal Coronation Ceremony of 2019.
The 100-baht note uses the same front as the regular notes but has changed the color of the note to be more yellow. This note will be issued in a volume of 20 million copies.
The 1,000-baht note has a vertical orientation. The images on the back are from the Royal Coronation Ceremony.
The National Bank of Ukraine has issued a new numismatic product commemorating the first kosmonaut of independent Ukraine Leonid Kadenyuk (1951-2018). The banknote is a souvenir note and can't be used as payment.
From the press release: The main image of the obverse of the souvenir banknote is a portrait of Leonid Kadenyuk, above which is the inscription - THE FIRST COSMONAUT OF UKRAINE; logo of the State Space Agency of Ukraine (right); under the portrait there are inscriptions: LEONID KADENIUK / 1951 LEONID 2018 / KADENIUK; to the left of the inscriptions - the element SPARK in the form of a globe that has a kinetic effect; bottom left on the background of the molecular structure - a stylized image of the plant; small State Emblem of Ukraine, over which the inscription UKRAINE and the flag of Ukraine (under the inscription KADENYUK); under the coat of arms - the number 1 (ie the first) and the image of the spacecraft; below the inscriptions: NATIONAL BANK OF UKRAINE; in the lower right corner of the banknote - an element made of optically variable paint (when changing the angle of the banknote, the color of the image changes from gold to green). Along the lower edge of the inscription LEONID KADENYUK,
The main image of the reverse side - the spacecraft "Colombia" against the background of the planets of the solar system; above it the inscriptions THE FIRST ASTRONAUT OF UKRAINE; on the right - number 1 and the image of the spaceship; inscriptions: 1997 (under the rocket), 2020 (below); bottom right vertically: the serial number of the banknote and the inscription - IS NOT A PAYMENT. Along the lower edge of the inscription LEONID KADENYUK, repeated six times.
The size of the note is 80×170 mm and 50,000 pieces have been issued (including 40,000 in a souvenir package).
The Banco de México has also issued a new 1,000-pesos banknote according to this press release. The new note measures 153x65 mm and shows the historical process of the Mexican Revolution. This is represented with the figures of President Francisco I. Madero, Hermila Galindo and Carmen Serdán, driving forces of the revolutionary ideals of democracy, equality and justice. These figures are accompanied by an image of a locomotive, the revolutionaries’ main means of transportation.
The back of the note shows the rainforest ecosystem represented with the jaguar and the ceiba and zapote trees, in the Ancient Mayan City and protected tropical forests of Calakmul, in the state of Campeche. Calakmul has been recognized as a natural and cultural world heritage site by UNESCO.
The Banco de México announced a new family of banknotes back in 2018. On 13 November 2020 the new 100-pesos note has been issued. The note symbolizes the Colonial Era. It features Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, a Monarch butterfly and Pine and holm trees. This beautiful new note is printed on polymer substrate.
The National Bank of Ethiopia has issued new 10-, 50-, 100- and 200-birr banknotes. The 5-birr note will be replaced by a coin. "The currency change is aimed at gathering currency circulating informally and outside of financial institutions; curb corruption and contraband and support financial institutions confront currency shortage."
ANother interesting piece from the press release: "While Ethiopia has never had a symbol to represent its currency, a new symbol has been designed and will be soon unveiled to symbolize the Birr."
Back in 2019 I wrote that the Czech National Bankannounced it would issue a new commemoratove banknote in 2022. The note will feature a portrait of Karel Engliš (1880 - 1961), the most important financier of the First Republic.
Engliš was the first rector of Masaryk University in Brno and from 1947 to 1948 rector of Charles University in Prague. Together with Alois Rašín (who featured the first commemorative Czech banknote), he was instrumental in the Czechoslovak currency reform after the First World War as Minister of Finance. From 1934 to 1938 he was governor of the Czechoslovak National Bank.
Now in November 2020 the design of this new note has been chosen. A total of 20,000 notes will be sold at a premium in folders.
Controversy has broken out regarding the back of the note. Both India and Pakistan claim the world map doesn't represent the true territory of their country. You guessed it: this is about Kashmir. The fact that world leaders chose a country like Saudi Arabia to discuss important financial topics might be a more interesting topic, but that's just my opinion.
The Central Bank of Azerbaijan has announced it will issue new versions of its 1-, 5- and 50-manat banknotes. The design wil be slightly different from the existing versions. The new banknotes will be available from 1 January 2021.
The Reserve Bank of Fiji has issued a commemorative 50-dollar note on 8 October 2020 to commemmorate Fiji’s 50th anniversary of independence.
The note is made of ploymer and to be honest: this is one of the most fun notes I've seen issued in a long time! I really like the design as well, which is different from the usual banknote designs.
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority has issued a new version of its 5-riyal banknote on 5 October 2020. The design is the same as the previous note but the banknote itself will now be made of polymer.
The Banco Central del Uruguay has issued two updated versions of its 20- and 50-peso notes. The design looks a lot like the issues from 2017 but the new notes are made of polymer and look pretty good to be honest!
One little pet peeve though: on the back of the 50-peso note, the man in the tranparent window looks in the 'wrong' direction in my opinion. I think it would have been nicer if he looked towards the note, instead of 'away' from the note.
The Banco Central de Nicaragua has issued a new 5-córodoba commemorative banknote on 1 October 2020. The note is made of ploymer and commemorates the 60th anniversary of the Central Bank.
Hello, I'm Steven Bron and welcome to my blog on banknotes! Here you can find: breaking news, background articles and of course my personal collection (world notes or at least one from each country, commemorative notes and polymer notes).
The Central Bank of Turkmenistan has issued a commemorative series of banknotes, commemorating 25 years of neutrality. They used the existing series for this issue but with an added logo consisting of two flags, a dove, a globe and the phrase "Turkmenistan: A Land of Neutrality."
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