Halló allir, hello everybody! My mother recently visited Iceland and gave me (besides a lot of jealous feelings for visiting my number one dream destination) some nice banknotes from this beautiful country (the 500 krónur P58a3 and the 1,000 krónur P59a6). Now to get enough of these beauties to buy a vacation to Eyjafjallajökull, Brennisteinsfjöll and Bárðarbunga and other magical places with impossible names...
Mujand has some great new fantasy notes out. Starting with the very popular National Parks series. The two new notes show the Mingan Archipelago National Park in Canada and the Bako National Park in Malaysia. Both notes, like the rest of the series, showcase the local flora and fauna from the national park and would make great souvenirs if you've ever visited these sites. Like all notes, you can buy them at the the Mujand Shop but do hurry because this series is selling fast with a few of the 9 available notes already sold out.
A new series started by Mujand is the Legend Series. The first two notes show two legendary ladies from England and the Netherlands. The English note has Lady Godiva on the front. For those unfamiliar with her, let's see what Professor Wikipedia has to say: "Godiva, Countess of Mercia (died between 1066 and 1086), was an English noblewoman who, according to a legend dating at least to the 13th century, rode naked – covered only in her long hair – through the streets of Coventry to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation that her husband imposed on his tenants. The name "Peeping Tom" for a voyeur originates from later versions of this legend in which a man named Thomas watched her ride and was struck blind or dead." Sounds like a fun lady and the note shows her in full glory, the picture derived from the painting by John Collier.
The second Legend is Mata Hari. The Dutch World War I spy / femme fatale / exotic dancer / courtesan (take your pick) who was executed by the French for spying. Fun fact: the numerals on the note, like the '50' are a reference to the old guilder-notes from the Netherlands.
So no new notes from the Blissdane Naive universe? Of course there are. Like the third note from Toroguay, the bio-luminescence world. There is now also a yellow 10-lixo note available.
And last, but by no means least: we have a new poneet islands tobacco note! This 10-kasutu note clearly shows why this may be my favourite series. The level of detail, the colors, the women on the back: it all fits somehow and is in perfect balance. I can only hope that we will see a fifth note one day.
Disclaimer: these notes were sent for review purposes. The text is entirely mine and was not paid for or asked for in any way.
A bucket load of new banknotes for my collection this week! My aunt and uncle came back from their annual winter stay in Thailand bringing back the new 500-baht featuring the new King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun (or Rama X).
All the other new notes were fantasy notes, starting with the 0-euro MemoEuro of which I got 5 from different sources. You can buy these notes at the sights depicted on the notes in Germany, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Austria. More info on these fun notes can be found at MemoEuro.eu. I've complete a list of notes issued thus far here. The notes I've acquired are 'from' Slagharen, Delft, Ypres, the Airborne Museum Hartenstein and Scheveningen.
The second batch of fantasy notes is from the already legendary Mujand in the next post.
We've come to the U-series already from fantasy banknote creator Mujand. This time we visit the islands of Evshlohogi in the Blissdane Naive universe (other lands and stories can be found here). There are four banknotes in this series, with the Queen and three princesses on the front and part of a partial image on the back... When you combine the four backsides you get a cool larger image of the complete Staal holding up Blissdane Naive (as seen below).
But that's not the only nice thing about the notes, oh no... On some of the notes you can find a hidden secret... I've promised not to reveal where or what it is but it really ties the notes and story of the Evshlohogi Islands together.
If you're from the Netherlands you may also find another 'secret' on the 5-dubre note. Doesn't the Queen look rather familiar...?
Again lots of hidden gems and secrets to be found on this new series from the ever entertaining and surprising Mujand. This and other series can be bought directly from the source.
Disclaimer: these notes were sent for review purposes. The text is entirely mine and was not paid for or asked for in any way.
It's so nice to have family living around the world, so they can arrange new banknotes for you! Like the new 1,000-baht note! Just need the 500-baht note from the new series now...
A wonderful new package from Mujand.com! I'm very enthusiastic about the latest set of fantasy banknotes celebrating National Parks from all over the world. We've already had three beautiful notes from North-America, Africa and Asia. The latest four notes depict Uluru-Kata Tjuta in Australia, Parc National des Écrins in France, Jotunheimen Nasjonal Park in Norway and Serra dos Órgãos in Brazil.
The new notes have the same design as the first three notes with flora and fauna from the different parks, flags of the countries the parks are situated in, unique serial numbers and several security features. All the notes are in the same currency as the official banknotes from these countries except for France which now uses the euro but has the fantasy note issued in the old francs.
The fact that lots of notes have already sold out shows that the Mujand notes are popular. I have a feeling the National Parks notes are particularly popular because of the recognizable themes and the combination of animals, images of nature (plants, flowers, mountains) and the very colorful design which appeals to many. Certainly to me because I think they are beautiful.
You can buy these notes and other past series at the official Mujand Shop.
Disclaimer: these notes were sent for review purposes. The text is entirely mine and was not paid for or asked for in any way.
My mother returned home from a trip to Ireland and Northern Ireland this week and brought some wonderful notes back to the Netherlands. Including three banknotes from Northern Ireland which was a country still missing from my collection!
A while ago I wrote about a new note from fantasy banknote creator Celsus Solar of Mujand. This note featured the beautiful nature of Yellowstone National Park. I expressed the hope this note would be the first of many because I think it's one of the most beautiful notes coming from the vaults of Mujand.
Well, joyous tidings indeed because yesterday I received two new notes from the National Parks series! While I expected to see other National Parks from the USA I was surpised to see two parks from around the world: Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and Jiuzhaigou National Park in China. Showing parks from around the world opens up a whole range of commercial and artistic possibilities so this is a very clever move I think.
Both notes have the same nominal value in the local currency: 50 shilling for the Serengeti note and 50 yuan for the Jiuzhaigou note. They also have the same size: 82.55 x 165.10 mm. But what's most important: just like the first note from Yellowstone National Park they look amazing.
The Serengeti note features a lion, local flora, a foil strip and a unique serial number on the front. The back shows a black rhinoceros, an olive baboon (papio anubis), a malachite kingfisher, a hot-air balloon and a map of the park.
The Jiuzhaigou note shows a giant panda, local flora, waterfalls, a foil strip and a unique serial number on the front. The back features a bharal (or Himalayian blue sheep), a golden snub-nosed monkey a white-browed rosefinch and a map of the park.
The attention to detail is visible throughout the design of these fantasy notes, for instance with the incorporation of the local languages. Like I said before: these notes should be available in the National Parks themselves and certainly belong in every collection of fantasy notes.
The notes are selling fast but can still be bought at the Mujand site where you can also see more video material from the different parks.
Let's hope we will see more notes from other parks in the future. The list of potential themes is long enough...
Disclaimer: these notes were sent for review purposes. The text is entirely mine and was not paid for or asked for in any way.
In 1642 Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to see the islands he named Staten Land which was renamed in 1645 to Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook anglicised the name to New Zealand. The coat of arms of the Dutch province of Zeeland shows a half-drowned lion referring to the history of floods (seen on the right). The most recent one happened in 1953 when a catastrophic flood killed over 1800 people in Zeeland and led to the construction of the protective Delta Works.
It is very fitting that the new fantasy series from Mujand, which is called Zealandia, has a major water theme. Zealandia is called "Earth's Hidden Continent". The front of the notes show a flood scene, beautiful women, a very cool seaweed & bubble hologram strip, unique serial numbering and continent topography. The back of the note seems a bit empty on first glance until you realize it shows underwater images and acurately captures the tranquillity and serenity of the underwater world. The notes are printed on polymer, have nice colors and crisp images and come in four denominations. An example of one of the notes can be seen below. The full set can be seen here or ordered here.
Two previous issues have been given an extra note. First is the O-series of Toroguay with a 50-lixo note. The second series is the F2-series of the Tobacco Notes of the Poneet Islands. A 25-kasatu note is now also for sale making this the third note from this series.
Maybe you're reading this and thinking: "what the hell is this guy talking about?? Toroguay, Tobabbo Notes... wait, WHAT?!" Both series are made by the very talented fantasy note designer Celsus Solar and are part of the fantasy world of Mujand. In this world we have on the one hand Blissdane Naive (a fictional planet hosting a variety of nations) and on the other hand Earth with several fantasy series from different countries.
There is a huge variety in notes, stories and artwork. The beauty of these notes can be seen in several series. One of these is the first note (of many I hope) from Yellowstone National Park. The use of colors, the chosen animals and natural phenomena are spot-on. I could totally see these notes selling in the visitor centers at the different National Parks.
All these notes and previous series can be bought in the Mujand Shop.
Disclaimer: these fantasy sets were sent for review purposes. The text is entirely mine and was not paid for or asked for in any way.
After a few weeks vacation in the USA I'm back in the Netherlands with a few new banknotes. First I found a star note in my daily change: a 1-dollar replacement note (P-537r). While enjoying myself in Universal Studios Orlando I found out that in Harry Potter World the local Gringotts Bank distributed fantasy Gringotts banknotes of 10 and 20 dollar. Of course I had to get one which you can see here.
That wasn't the only fantasy note because I finally found a 'banknote' from the biggest themepark in the Netherlands, the Efteling. The note is a 2-euro coupon which is actually still valid if you would choose to pay with it.
Finally my uncle arrived home from his second home in Thailand with a nice present for me: the first three Thai banknotes with the portrait of the new King. A nice addition to my Thailand collection.
Update: and my uncle even had three more banknotes, from Laos this time. Two varieties of a 1-kip note (one wirh an error (P25a1) and the other where the error is corrected (P25a2)) and a 1,000-kip note (P32Ab).
This was a good week for new banknotes since I got a few new ones. One of the best was a banknote from my own country of the Netherlands which has been on my radar for a long time featuring the great-great-grandmother of our current King.
I received a thick package from Texas last week with lots of new fantasy notes from Mujand. For those that never heard of Mujand: it's a fantasy banknote company publishing notes designed by the artist Celsus Solar. The biggest project from Mujand are the notes from Blissdane Naive but there are also smaller side projects. To explain what Blissdane Naive is, I'll just quote from the website:
"Nine planets orbit the Mujand Sun. The planet Blissdane Naive has life. It's a world where the fantastic is common and time has become yesterday, today and tomorrow... all at once. What may appear true today, changes within years, months, days, or hours. No one is sure. A time anomaly has hit Blissdane Naive and no one was aware or prepared until the past, present and future became in doubt. It's a mystery yet to be solved. Each country has its Story. These stories can be myth or history. For the people of Blissdane Naive it's getting hard to tell which is which. The Blissdane Naive time anomaly mystery is being revealed one banknote, one story at a time..." There is even a newspaper, the Mujand Investigator, to follow the stories.
All of this background makes it incredibly fun to collect these fantasy notes and read the sometimes bizarre stories. However, besides writing fun stories designer Celsus Solar is also a very skilled banknote designer who produces some of the best looking fantasy notes I ever saw. They are for sale in several eBay-stores but I would recommend visiting the shop on the Mujand site first because not all notes are for sale elsewhere.
But let's dive into it and see what the content of the surprise package from Mujand was. First of all there were three new series, the M-, N- and O-series (I call them that for the first letter of the serial numbers). The M-series, or officially called the 'Lia Antootica Pirates series', consists of 4 notes of 5-, 10-, 25- and 50-sivar. The front of the notes show the so-called Founding Pirates, while the back of the note shows murdered members of the Royal family. To understand the design choices and what the implications were of this design, I recommend you read the short history of Lia Antootica. See if you can draw some parallels with our own time and world. Security features on the notes include a transparent hologram strip and unique serial numbering.
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The second series is the N-series, or officially the Amotekunia Birds & Bees series, consists of two notes of 50- and 100-nemaz. The front of both notes show Bee-Eater birds. The back shows scientific research and the modification of bees. The security features are the same as the Pirate notes: a transparent hologram strip and unique serial numbering.
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The third new series from the Blissdane Naive world is just a single note so far: the 20-lixo note from Toroguay. The front shows scienteer / explorer Sergi Fonte. The back, which has a vertical orientation, shows a luminescent frog (they exist in our own world as well) and the daily life of the Dera people. This is the third series with the same transparent hologram strip and unique serial numbering as security features.
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One last note from Blissdane Naive and that is a new Tobacco note from the Poneet Islands. We already had one Tobacco note issued in 2016 but here is its brother. Or should I say sister? Like the first note we can also admire a naked lady on this new note who is enjoying a walk with her pig. Nothing wrong with that right? I really like the colorful design of the series. The design elements are more or less the same as the previous note in the series but it does have a different security strip. You could argue that this is a bit of a missed opportunity to keep the notes the same but I like the second strip more to be honest.
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Last but not least, the final two notes exist outside the world of Blissdane Naive but in a whole world of their own. These are the two MAGA-notes, where MAGA of course stands for 'Make America Great Again'. The 1-dollar note has the official portrait of President Donald Trump in front of the White House on it, the American eagle and the text E Pluribus Unum. The back shows a portrait of First Lady Melania Trump with the Washington Monument in the back.
The 5-dollar note has the official portrait of Vice-President Mike Pence in front of the United States Capitol building, the text Declaration of Independence and an image of the signing of this document which you can also see on the regular 2-dollar note from the United States. The back shows Second Lady Karen Pence with an aerial shot of the Lincoln Memorial.
Both notes have a transparent security strip and unique serial numbering starting with the letter T (for Trump I suppose). I'm not a huge fan of the security strip which has been used in these notes since it doesn't feel integrated into the note but more pasted on. The design of the notes is understated on the front but more lustrous on the back. The use of one or two colors with different tints and shades adds to the understated design regular American banknotes also have. This is something I always admire in Mujand banknotes: the thoughtful design and use of colors which add significantly to the overall appearance of the notes.
Well, so far I've managed to write about the MAGA-notes without making a political statement so kudos to me. I don't know if people would criticize these notes because they don't like the people depicted. If that's the case, I have to ask if they also don't like collecting banknotes from Iraq, Iran, North Korea and so on? And no, I didn't just compare Trump to Saddam Hussein.
I have understood that the usual sites which sell Mujand notes don't sell this particular series. So if you want them, you can visit the shopping section of the Mujand site.
Disclaimer: these fantasy sets were sent for review purposes. The text is entirely mine and was not paid for or asked for in any way.
No less than 11 new notes this week! In my local banknote shop I found two notes I quite liked. First a 100-shilling note from Uganda (P31c) with a design I thought was fascinating. I'm still a sucker for notes that "just look nice". In the same shop I also found an Austrian note which at first glance isn't all that special but the little 1-krone note (P73) is actually the first issue from the Austrian Government in 1922. I didn't have any note from that series yet, so here you go.
The biggest batch of new notes was in a package I got from Texas and were several new series and single notes from Mujand. The Blissdane Naive world keeps on expanding with an M-, N- and O-series. There was also a new Tobacco-note from the second F-series with a naked lady with a pig on it, how great is that?
But the biggest suprise were two MAGA-notes. MAGA? Make America Great Again, does that ring a bell? When I opened the package the face of Mike Pence on the fantasy 5-dollar note smiled at me. The 1-dollar note with Donald Trump on it? Not so many smiles...
I will post a separate review for the Mujand-notes later this weekend.
After last weeks discoveries at a local store I couldn't resist and just had to return again. This time with more time than just my lunch break. After going through the mountain of available notes twice I found several other notes I could add to my collection.
A couple of new notes today which I found in the infamous "1 dollar per note" box. Well, it turns out the seller hadn't really been paying attention because some of the notes there had a much higher catalog value. The Russian note in particular was hard to miss because of it's massive size. It's even hard to fit in one of my Leuchtturm Vario 1C folders!
