The three banknote issuing banks of Hong Kong have issued two new banknotes: the 20- and 50-dollar notes.
First up is the Standard Chartered Bank. The front of the 20-dollar note shows the Standard Chartered Bank headquarters building; has the denomination as registration device and the "20" in green SPARK Orbital. The back of the note shows a man pouring tea for his family. Yes, tea: the best drink in the world . The watermark is a Bauhinia flower.
The 50-dollar note is green. The front is more or less the same as the 20-dollar note: the Standard Chartered Bank headquarters building, the denomination as registration device and a "50" in green SPARK Orbital. The back of the note shows a beautiful picture of a butterfly and a flower. The watermark is again a Bauhinia flower
Next are the new notes from the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, or HSBC. The front of the new 20-dollar note shows the familiar lion statue, the denomination as registration device and a green leaf with "20" in green SPARK Orbital. The back of the note is again a tea-themed image: we see a tea gathering where a child is pouring tea for the elderly.
The new 50-dollar note from HSBC has the lion statue again with the headquarters of HSBC in background, the denomination as registration device and a butterfly with "50" in green SPARK Orbital. The back shows a butterfly on a China Rose Hibiscus flower.
The last bank in this article is the Bank of China. Their new 20-dollar note has (suprise, surprise) the Bank of China building in Beijing on the front. The denomination as registration device and a "20" in green SPARK Orbital. The back has a tea set. As a big tea enthusiast I love all the tea images!
The final note is the 50-dollar banknote of the Bank of China. I'm sure you're beginning to see a pattern here because the front shows the Bank of China building in Beijing again, the denomination as registration device, the "50" in green SPARK Orbital and a Bauhinia flower. The back has an image of a butterfly on a flower.
After the death of the old sultan on 10 January 2020 a new sultan became the leader of Oman. His name is Haitham bin Tariq Al Said and it's expected his portrait will be on future banknotes.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has announced it will issue a new currency note of 2,000 rupees as part of the current 11th currency note series. Security features will also be further upgraded in the existing series.
A new banknote from Transnistria, the small breakaway state which issues its own banknotes after declaring independence from Moldova in 1990. The 'country' (though not recognized by any UN member state) has issued a new commemorative banknote of 1 ruble on 20 December 2019 to commemorate "25 Years of the Transnistrian Ruble".
According to the press release 200,000 notes will enter circulation and 2,500 notes will be sold as numismatic products in booklets. The commemorative banknote has a vertical ornamental decoration.
The banknote is 150 mm long and 70 mm wide. The prominent colour of the 1,000-kyats note is blue. At the upper part of the note, the "CENTRAL BANK OF MYANMAR" is printed. On the front of the banknote, the picturesque of Bogyoke Aung San is printed and "1000 Kyats" in Myanmar language is inserted on the right side of the note. "K 1000" is also printed in the remaining three corners of the note. The watermark is an image of Bogyoke Aung San. The security string is inserted from top to bottom.
The back of the note has an image of the Hluttaw building, and "CENTRAL BANK OF MYANMAR" is inserted on the top of the note and "ONE THOUSAND KYATS" is seen on the lower part of the note. The existing 1,000-kyats note which is in circulation will continue to be legal tender currency.
The Banco Nacional de Angola (BNA) has announced that a new family of banknotes will be introduced in 2020. The face of the first president of Angola, Agostinho Neto, will appear on the front of the notes, as well as illustrations of the national badges. The back of the banknotes will show different images of the natural wonders of Angola.
The most commonly used denominations (200-, 500-, 1,000- and 2,000-kwanza notes), will be made of a polymer substrates to increase their life span. The notes will be made by three "foreign" companies from Germany, Russia and the USA.
More news from Bangladesh! The Central Bank of Bangladesh has issued an updated 50-taka note on 15 December 2019. "As 10-taka and 50-taka notes have similarities in their colours, the central bank has printed 50-taka notes in reddish orange colour to make it easy for the people to distinguish between the two bank notes."
The Central Bank of Bangladesh has announced a new commemorative banknote for 2020. The 200-taka note will be introduced on 17 March 2020 and will commemorate the 100th birthday of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (1920-1975). He is known as the Father of the Nation in Bangladesh.
Not much information on the design other than "Bangabandhu’s image [on the regular note] will be decorated".
The fantasy banknote creator Mujand has issued several new series of fantasy banknotes, some of which I have had the good fortune to hold in my hand and admire the beautiful artwork up close. The notes are quite popular judging by the many sold-out signs in the webshop. Take this as a hint to order your specimens fast if you like them (Christmas is just around the corner...).
For a while we have seen some interesting notes from the fictional world of Blissdane Naïve. The nations on the planet and their history provide a seemingly endless source of inspiration for the many banknote sets. Recent side projects like the National Parks and the Legend series prove however that 'our' world can also be a big inspiration for some very nice designs.
The Legend series has three new notes of which one suprised me. The new notes feature Pocahontas, Jeanne d'Arc and Benedict Arnold. Now the last person was a surprise for me. Because I had always assumed after the first two notes in this series (Mata Hari and Lady Godiva) that we would get to see female legends. Apparently men are also welcome on these notes which opens up a whole range of possible new legends for future.
Of the three new notes I like the one with Jeanne d'Arc (or Jehanne d'Arc as it is spelled in the old way on the note) the most. It looks very similar to some of the old French banknotes which I happen to like a lot.
A new series from the world of Blissdane Naïve is the one from Mrokland. The series is called "the archers of Obrion" and the notes all show different archers ready to shoot their arrows.
The second new series is from the 'Isle of Komplece' and is my favourite of the lot. Why? Simple: animals! I always like to see animals on banknotes and this series in particular is fantastic. The notes have aquatic animals on the front and a bird on the back. I would immediately believe it if some country by the sea on our planet would issue these banknotes as their own. For some reason I got a bit of a Norwegian vibe from the notes (no turtles or dolphins in their waters of course, but still...).
The nation of Romedia is another new entry from Mujand. The look and feel of these notes is completely different from the one above, from the Isle of Komplece. But the collector of exotic animals will be happy: lots of beautiful animals on the front and the back.
The last new series of Mujand is a very interesting one. When I first saw the notes I immediately got this propaganda feel from them. And not the good kind of propaganda: the caricatures of greedy, wealthy people on the back in contrast with the poor beside them feels like a political message. A very interesting design!
All the notes, current and past series and the stories behind the notes can be seen on Mujand.com.
Disclaimer: these notes were sent for review purposes. The text is entirely mine and was not paid for or asked for in any way.
The Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago has issued a new polymer 100-dollar banknote on 9 December 2019. "The Central Bank intends to expand the range of polymer notes to the other denominations in 2020. The new polymer $100 note will co-circulate with the existing paper-based $100 note remaining as legal tender until further notice."
The Banca Nationala a Romaniei (National Bank of Romania) has issued a new commemorative nomismatic product on 4 December 2019. A similar product was issued a year ago. This time the 100-lei commemorates the anniversary of The Completion of the Great Union. The notes features are:
size: 147x82 mm
prevailing colour: blue
polymer substrate, offset/intaglio printing
From the website: "Obverse: the following representative graphic elements: to the right, in the foreground, the portrait of Ion I.C. Brătianu, and, below, his name and birth and death years, namely “ION I.C. BRĂTIANU 1864-1927”, while in the central part, an image of the Order of Carol I decoration, that Ion I.C. Brătianu received in 1922. In the background, in the central part, an interior image of the Romanian Athenaeum.
The obverse also shows: the coat of arms of Romania, the name of the central bank “BANCA NAȚIONALĂ A ROMÂNIEI” and the NBR logo in a medallion. The face value is printed four times, as follows: in the bottom left corner, horizontally, in figures “100”; down in the central part, horizontally, in letters on two lines “LEI UNA SUTĂ”; in the bottom right corner, vertically, in letters “UNA SUTĂ LEI”; and in the top right corner, vertically, in figures “100”.
Centrally, in the top left corner is the medallion with a superposed image of a stylised depiction of a skylight built into the inner dome of the Romanian Athenaeum.
The signatures of the Governor and Chief Cashier are printed in the central part, above the face value in letters.
The date of putting the banknote into circulation, i.e. “1 decembrie 2019”, is printed vertically, to the right.
In the background of the banknote, stylised geometric motifs are printed in subdued colours.
The reverse of the banknote features a graphic composition: to the left, a vintage image of the former palace of the Assembly of Deputies of the Romanian Parliament, currently the Patriarchate Palace and, in the centre, an image of the reverse of the Order of Carol I decoration.
Down, the text “FALSIFICAREA ACESTOR BILETE SE PEDEPSEŞTE CONFORM LEGILOR” (Counterfeiting is punishable according to the law) is printed horizontally on two lines.
Up, the name of the central bank “BANCA NAŢIONALĂ A ROMÂNIEI” is printed horizontally and the NBR logo is shown in the top right corner and bottom left corner.
Centrally, in the top right corner is the medallion with a superposed image of a stylised depiction of a skylight built into the inner dome of the Romanian Athenaeum.
The face value is printed as follows: in the top left corner and down, in the centre, vertically, in figures “100”; in the top left corner, in the serial number area and in the bottom right corner, horizontally, in figures “100”; and in the bottom left corner in letters, “UNA SUTĂ LEI”.
In the background of the banknote, stylised geometric motifs are printed in subdued colours.
The serial number of the banknote is printed in letters and figures, in red and black ink, as follows: to the left, horizontally, in red ink, with fonts of ascending height and to the right, vertically, in black ink with fonts of the same height.
As protection against counterfeiting, the banknote includes the following security features for the public:
Security features in the polymer substrate, visible on both the front and the back of the banknote:
a complex transparent window, vertically, featuring:watermark, depicting a fragment of the Order of Carol I decoration and the NBR logo, visible when the note is held up to the light;
in the centre, the multi-toned portrait of I.C. Brătianu;
in the upper part, a graphical depiction of the reverse of the Order of Carol I decoration, including in the middle an element that is visible only when viewed under a point source of light;
around the central part, as well as above and below the transparent window, graphic elements in optically variable ink (blue-green), which change colour depending on the angle from which they are viewed;
a magnetic security thread, displaying in negative the microtext “ROMÂNIA 100”, readable from four different directions;
Moreover, graphic elements of different sizes, in iridescent blue ink, containing the face value “100” in negative are visible only on the reverse.
Security features added via printing:
a raised tactile relief:a latent image: on the reverse, the inscription “BNR” on the image of the former palace of the Assembly of Deputies of the Romanian Parliament, currently the Patriarchate Palace, above the entrance doors, visible when the banknote is tilted;
on the obverse: the portrait of Ion I.C. Brătianu, the coat of arms of Romania, the depiction of the Order of Carol I decoration, the name of the central bank “BANCA NAŢIONALĂ A ROMÂNIEI”, the NBR logo in a medallion, the face value in figures and letters, the embossed feature “100” in the transparent window and the text “LEI UNA SUTĂ” on two lines, in ink shifting from golden to green when the banknote is tilted;
on the reverse: the former palace of the Assembly of Deputies of the Romanian Parliament, currently the Patriarchate Palace, the image of the reverse of the Order of Carol I decoration, the name of the central bank “BANCA NAŢIONALĂ A ROMÂNIEI”, the NBR logo, the rectangle with the NBR logo, the face value in figures, vertically, in the top left corner and, horizontally, in the bottom right corner and, in letters, horizontally, in the bottom left corner, and the text “FALSIFICAREA ACESTOR BILETE SE PEDEPSEŞTE CONFORM LEGILOR” (Counterfeiting is punishable according to the law);
an obverse-reverse superposed image: a stylised depiction of a skylight built into the inner dome of the Romanian Athenaeum. The superposition is visible when the banknote is held up to the light;
laser micro-perforations: the face value “100” placed vertically, in the central part;
an anti-scan, anti-copy pattern: in the clear areas to the left and to the right, on both the front and the back of the banknote;
a design secured by an offset rainbow colouring: on the obverse, up in the centre, and on the reverse, down in the centre.
Additionally, both the obverse and reverse include security elements added via printing, detectable by special devices, namely:
a microtext in offset printing:
on the obverse: “BNR”, below and above the left-hand half of the portrait of Ion I.C. Brătianu;
on the reverse: “BNR” printed in negative, in the stylised medallion.
a microtext in intaglio printing:
on the obverse: “BANCA NATIONALA A ROMANIEI”, above the text showing the name of the issuing central bank and “BNR” inside the figures indicating the face value, in the bottom left corner;
on the reverse: “BNR” in the left-hand rectangle and in the figures indicating the face value, to the right.
UV-fluorescent ink printing on the reversemagnetism: the serial number of the banknote in black ink."
a stamp-like image showing the face value of the banknote in figures “100”, to the left, horizontally, that appears in yellow or green under ultraviolet light;
the serial number of the banknote to the left, horizontally, in red, that appears in orange under ultraviolet light and to the right, vertically, in black, that appears in yellow or green under ultraviolet light;
magnetism: the serial number of the banknote in black ink."
The Bank of Ghana has announced two new higher denominations of 100- and 200-cedis. The reason for the issuing of these higher denominations is rather simple: inflation. The new notes will complement the updated series of banknotes which was issued on 6 May 2019.
It will come as no surprise that 1- and 2-cedis banknotes will gradually be replaced by coins.
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 three banknote issuing banks of Hong Kong have issued two new banknotes: the 20- and 50-dollar notes. 
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A new banknote from Transnistria, the small breakaway state which issues its own banknotes after declaring independence from Moldova in 1990. The 'country' (though not recognized by any UN member state) has 
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More news from Bangladesh! The 
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