According to a post on The Nation, on 27 July 2010 the Bank of Thailand board approved the printing of new banknotes. The new 16th series of notes — in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 baht — will include more anti-counterfeit features and is expected to be issued after 5 December 2010.

Tags: Thailand

20 rupees (US$0.40), 2009. Like P96, but new date and no inset letter.

100 rupees (US$2.15), 2009. Like P98, but new date and no inset letter.

Courtesy of Jim W.-C. Chen.

Tags: India

20 dollars (US$2.60), 1 January 2009. Like P207, but new date.

Courtesy of Michael Reissner.

Tags: Hong Kong

The following story is from a post on Japan Update dated 22 July 2010:


Okinawa still likes the unpopular 2000-yen note
The Japanese currency note is the only one in circulation bearing the number ‘2’, enough of a rarity to make people distrust it, leaving only Okinawans as champions of the beleaguered money.

The Bank of Japan began issuing the ¥2000 bill on July 19, 2000 to commemorate the Group of Eight summit in Okinawa, but this bill didn’t catch on with the general public and remains unpopular. There are around 110 million ¥2,000 notes in circulation, about 1% of all Japanese currency.

Okinawans have good reasons for loving the bill; the Okinawan symbol ’Shureimon’ is printed on one side of the bill. The Shureimon Gate in Naha was built in the 16th century as the main gate to Shuri Castle. Shureimon Gate is a symbol of peace, and Okinawans say they want “to promote the spirit of peace from Okinawa” with the ¥2,000 note. Local Okinawa businesses have begun a campaign to promote use of the currency, with local banks converting ATM machines to accept them and shopping malls now giving change in ¥2,000 notes.

The Bank of Japan stopped issuing the ¥2000 bill in fiscal year 2003, and has kept tons of the bills stored in its safe. The circulation of this bill peaked in 2004 but has been in decline ever since. There are various reasons to unpopularity of the ¥2000 bill. The bill resembles the ¥5000 note, and the lack of ATMs that issue them when customers draw cash have made citizens wary.

Courtesy of Mike Link.

Tags: Japan

On 20 July 2010, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority announced it will begin producing banknotes with Braille and embossed lines for benefit of the visually impaired. The new notes will be phased in over the next two years and will feature Braille at the bottom left corner of each note, together with embossed lines that correspond with each notes value.

The HK$1,000 (US$129) and HK$500 (US$65), which were unveiled at the press conference, will be put into circulation in the last quarter of 2010 and early 2011, respectively. The design of the remaining three denominations, HK$100, HK$50 and HK$20, will be unveiled in mid-2011.

Each of the three banknote-issuing banks, the Bank of China, HSBC and Standard Chartered, will issue their respective versions. All will retain the current color schemes.

Visit the official HKMA site for more information.

Tags: Hong Kong

On 20 July 2010, Bank Indonesia began issuing new 1,000-rupiah coins and 10,000-rupiah (US$1.10) notes. The coins have a picture of Garuda Pancasila on the front, and the angklung traditional musical instrument on the back against the background of the Gedung Sate building in Bandung.

The new 10,000-rupiah note is similar to the preceding issue, but the overall color has changed from reddish purple to a bluish purple, and several security features have been revised:

• Additional security elements in the form of rainbow printing in a pentagon shape, which has the effect of changing color (rainbow effect) when observed from certain angles, on the right-hand side of the main image;

• Additional small red (Omron) rings filled in white scattered on the right-hand side of the main image;

• A change to the blind code, consisting of a circle that was previously invisible, which is now visible and noticeable to the touch (intaglio printmaking), positioned on the right-hand side of the main image;

• Discontinuation of Optically Variable Ink in the shape of an octagon, which changed from green to blue when viewed from different angles. Instead opting for the BI design logo framed by an ornament from the Palembang region, which does not change color (offset printing), positioned on the bottom right-hand side of the note.

Additional information and images are requested.

Tags: Indonesia

Live Mint has posted an interesting article on banknote production in India.

Tags: India

On 15 July 2010, India’s Union Cabinet approved a symbol for the rupee which is a combination of the Roman “R” without the vertical stroke and the Devnagri letter “ra.” The symbol was designed by Bombay IIT postgraduate D Udaya Kumar. A finance ministry official said the government is not planning to print banknotes with the new symbol. Historians say that the first “rupee” was issued by Emperor Sher Shah Suri in the 15th century. One rupee was equivalent to 40 copper paisas then. The rupee is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit word raupya, which means silver.

Tags: India

On 18 July 2010, an exhibit called “Stories Behind Banknotes" opened in the atrium of the Hong Kong Pavilion at the Expo 2010 Shanghai China (Shanghai Expo), which will run until 15 August. The Commissioner of the HKSAR Expo Affairs Office, Mr Patrick Chan, and the President and Chief Executive Officer Designate, HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited, Ms Helen Wong, officiated at the launch ceremony.

Mr Chan said, "HSBC's exhibition of the banknotes issued by the bank in the past 145 years, in the Hong Kong Pavilion at the first-ever World Expo hosted by our country in the city of Shanghai, has special meaning. "The banknotes featured in this exhibition are precious and very interesting. Many are rare, and some have never been publicly shown before." "Stories Behind Banknotes" provides a unique insight into the social and economic transformation of Hong Kong since HSBC issued its first banknote in the city in 1865.

Among the 56 banknotes featured is the "duress note" issued during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong in World War II. Other rare notes from Shanghai and other note-issuing branches across China are also displayed. HSBC Chief Executive Officer Hong Kong Mark McCombe said, "The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited has been the principal issuer of banknotes in Hong Kong since the bank issued its first banknote in 1865, the year of its establishment.

"Currently, approximately two out of every three banknotes in circulation in Hong Kong are issued by HSBC. HSBC's banknotes and their constantly shifting designs illustrate the trade and financial development of the region and provide a valuable insight into the culture and character of the city."

Tags: Hong Kong

According to a notice on the Bank of Mongolia’s web site, a new 20,000-tögrög (US$14.60) note was issued on 25 May 2010.

The note dated 2009 is like the one issued in 2006 (Pick 70), but has a varifeye thread.

Light green and yellow. Front: Chinggis Khaan; holographic Soyombo symbol; warrior on horseback. Back: State Nine White Banners. varifeye thread and 3-mm windowed security thread with demetalized MONGOLBANK. Watermark: Chinggis Khaan and electrotype МБ. Printer: (G&D). 152 x 72 mm.

If anyone can translate this press release into English, I would appreciate hearing from you so that I can share the info with others.

Anyone interested in buying one of these notes can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw it mentioned here on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of Thomas Augustsson, Roman Boroznjak, and Nin Cheun.

Tags: Mongolia

20 rupees (US$0.40), 2010. Like Pick 96, but new date, new signatures, and E inset letter.

Courtesy of Bill Stubkjaer.

Tags: India

500 rupees (US$10.70), 2010. Like Pick 99, but new date, new signatures, and R inset letter.

Courtesy of Bill Stubkjaer.

Tags: India

Viet Nam has issued a 500,000-dong (US$26.20) note dated (20)10. This appears to be a new date variety of Pick 124.

Additional information and images are requested.

Courtesy of Duong Do Hoang.

Tags: Vietnam, Polymer

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has unveiled a new logo which will be included in the new generation of banknotes by December 2010.

The following description comes from the bank’s web site:

The new BSP logo is a perfect round shape in blue that features three gold stars and a stylized Philippine eagle rendered in white strokes. These main elements are framed on the left side with the text inscription “Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas” underscored by a gold line drawn in half circle. The right side remains open, signifying freedom, openness, and readiness of the BSP, as represented by the Philippine eagle, to soar and fly toward its goal. Putting all these elements together is a solid blue background to signify stability.

Principal Elements:

1. The Philippine Eagle, our national bird, is the world’s largest eagle and is a symbol of strength, clear vision and freedom, the qualities we aspire for as a central bank.

2. The three stars represent the three pillars of central banking: price stability, stable banking system, and a safe and reliable payments system. It may also be interpreted as a geographical representation of BSP’s equal concern for the impact of its policies and programs on all Filipinos, whether they are in Luzon, Visayas or Mindanao.

Colors
1. The blue background signifies stability.
2. The stars are rendered in gold to symbolize wisdom, wealth, idealism, and high quality.
3. The white color of the eagle and the text for BSP represents purity, neutrality, and mental clarity.

Font or Type Face
Non-serif, bold for “BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS” to suggest solidity, strength, and stability. The use of non-serif fonts characterized by clean lines portrays the no-nonsense professional manner of doing business at the BSP.

Shape
Round shape to symbolize the continuing and unending quest to become an excellent monetary authority committed to improve the quality of life of Filipinos. This round shape is also evocative of our coins, the basic units of our currency.

Tags: Philippines

Over the past year, several Philippine banknotes have been issued bearing the letter A after the year. I recently received the following explanation from a source at Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas:

“The serial number on Philippine banknotes consists of two (2) alpha and six numerics per denomination. The total number of banknotes per denomination that can be printed with SN A0000001 to SN ZZ1000000 is 600 million pieces. When the actual production of banknotes per denomination exceeds 600 million pieces, the suffix A is added after the year mark in order to avoid duplication of the serial number.”

Tags: Philippines

100 rupees (US$0.90), 2006-07-03. Like P118, but new date and new signatures (Mahinda Rajapaksa and Ajith Nivard Cabraal).

Courtesy of TDS.

Tags: Sri Lanka

According to a BBC News article dated 3 June 2010, Syed Salim Raza resigned as governor of the State Bank of Pakistan on 6 May 2010. Deputy Governor Yaseen Anwar has been appointed by President Zardari as acting governor to replace Raza.

Perhaps this foretells a new signature variety in the future. If anyone obtains a note from Pakistan with Anwar’s signature, please email 300-dpi, 100% actual size, 24-bit color scans of the front and back of these notes, saved as uncompressed JPEG, BMP, or TIFF.

Courtesy of Aidan Work.

Tags: Pakistan

500 taka (US$7.20), 2010. Like P50, but new date and serial number at lower right in Western numerals.

Courtesy of Bill Stubkjaer.

Tags: Bangladesh

100 pesos (US$2.15), 2010 A. Like P194, but new date.

Courtesy of Rodney Hall (Kiwi Coins).

Tags: Philippines

On 4 May 2010, Bank of Thailand issued a new 100-baht (US$3.10) note to mark the king’s 60th wedding anniversary. The note is the same as the current 100 baht (P114) but the back features the king & queen standing together. Apparently 9,999,999 notes were printed. A specimen without overprint and with all-zero serial numbers and a specimen number at lower right back has also been confirmed.

Courtesy of Sanjay Basu, Vincent Tan, Rafal Nogowczyk, Claudio Marana, and Jean-Michel Engels.

Tags: Thailand

500 pesos (US$10.95), 2008 A. Like P196, but new date.

Courtesy of Nazir Rahemtulla.

Tags: Philippines

2 taka (US$0.01), 2009. Like previously reported new 2-taka notes, but new date and new signature (Mohammed Tareq).

Courtesy of Bill Stubkjaer.

Tags: Bangladesh

100 afghanis (US$2.11), ١٢٨٢ (SH1383/2004). Like P70, but new signature.


500 afghanis (US$10.58), ١٢٨٢ (SH1383/2004). Like previously reported new type 500-afghani note, but new signature.

Courtesy of Bill Stubkjaer.

Tags: Afghanistan

On 2 October 2006 Mongol Bank issued its first ever 20,000-tögrög (US$14.35) note into circulation (Pick 70). A limited number of 20,000-tögrög (US$14.35) notes with the watermark area on front were overprinted Great Mongol State 800 years 1206 - 2006. This commemorative was the first note in the world to use G&D’s LOOK (Laser Originated Optical Key), a security feature that creates laser-induced effects in the substrate, print color, foil, and varnish. In this case, the 4-digit serial number was written using LOOK.

The above specimen example of the overprinted commemorative has surfaced, along with reports that non-specimen notes with the commemorative overprint were available only encased in Lucite. If anyone can provide more information about this commemorative note, please post a comment. I’m particularly interested in determining if the non-specimen version of the overprinted note is available, as well as how many such notes were printed, and if they entered circulation or were sold as numismatic products at a premium to face value.

Courtesy of Eberhard Siegele.

Tags: Mongolia

100 rupees (US$1.40), no date. On 16 April 2010 Nepal Rastra Bank issued a new 100-rupee note with usual color and size with prefix number EE/63 000001 to U/86 999999. On front left it has the picture of Mount Everest from south face, on right it has the watermark of Nepal’s national flower Rhododendron. It has the signature of the present Governor Bijay Nath Bhattarai (signature 16).

Courtesy of Shankar Shrestha.

Tags: Nepal

All denominations of notes from Viet Nam have been confirmed dated (20)08, except the 50,000- and 200,000-dong notes.

Courtesy of Ryan Vuong.

Tags: Vietnam, Polymer

1,000 won, 2008. Pink. Front: Coat of arms; house (birthplace of Kim Jong Suk, Kim Il Sung’s first wife and Kim Jong Il’s mother) in Hoeryong. Back: Birch trees on shore of Lake Samji; mountain. Solid security thread with printed text. Watermark: Mongnan (Seibold’s magnolia) flowers. Printer: Unknown. 145 x 65 mm. Intro: 30.11.2009.

Courtesy of Thomas Augustsson.

Tags: North Korea

1,000 pesos (US$22.40), 2010. Like Pick 197b, but new date.

Courtesy of Rodney Hall.

Tags: Philippines

5 taka (US$0.07), 2009. Like Pick 46, but new date and new signature (Atiur Rahman). Intro: 16.03.2010.

Courtesy of Mohammed J. Islam.

Tags: Bangladesh

10 taka (US$0.15), 2009. Like Pick 47, but new date, new signature (Atiur Rahman), and litho printed instead of intaglio, plus text on front is surrounded by white. Intro: 31.01.2010.

Courtesy of Mohammed J. Islam.

Tags: Bangladesh

100 riels, no date. Like Pick 8, but new signature combination.

Courtesy of Allan J. Lim.

Tags: Cambodia

An error has been confirmed on Viet Nam’s 100,000-dong (US$5.25) polymer note (Pick 122). In the microprinting at lower left on the front of the note the denomination is spelled out in numerals, however there is a zero missing from the second full set of numerals (see circled area above). This error has been confirmed on all dates (2004, 2005, 2006, and 2008).

Courtesy of Ryan Vuong.

Tags: Vietnam, Polymer

The Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue a 20-rupee (US$0.45) banknote with R inset letter in both numbering panels in the Mahatma Gandhi Series – 2005 bearing the signature of Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor. Except for the change in the inset letter, the design of these notes to be issued now is similar in all respects to the banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi Series – 2005, with additional / new security features issued on 16 August 2006. All 20-rupee notes issued in the past will continue to be legal tender.

Tags: India

On 5 April 2010 the Central Bank of Sri Lanka issued a new 10-rupee (US$0.10) coin to replace the banknote (Pick 108 and 115) of the same denomination.

Courtesy of Aidan Work.

Tags: Sri Lanka

20 dollars (US$2.60), 1 JANUARY 2008. Like P207, but new date.

Courtesy of Bill Stubkjaer.

Tags: Hong Kong

1,000 taka (US$14.45), 2009. Like 1,000-taka note issued 27.10.2008, but new date and new signature (Atiur Rahman).

Courtesy of Bill Stubkjaer.

Tags: Bangladesh

20 taka (US$0.30), 2009. Like P48a, but new date and new signature (Atiur Rahman).

Courtesy of Bill Stubkjaer.

Tags: Bangladesh

The Bank of Trade of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea issued foreign exchange certificates in 1988. They were used until 1999, then officially abolished in 2002, in favor of foreign currencies. There are two well-known sets of certificates. The blue and green set (P23-P30) for capitalist visitors and red certificates (P31-P38) for use by visitors exchanging currency from socialist countries.

However, the following two notes have recently been reported. They are exactly like Pick 23 and Pick 27, respectively, except they are red and brown in color, not blue and green. Does anyone know anything about these? Are the other denominations available in this color scheme too?





Courtesy of Alexey Semakov.

Tags: North Korea

10 rupees (US$0.20), 2009. Like P95, but new date (2009), new signature (Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor since 06.09.2008), and L inset letter.

Courtesy of Sejin Ahn.

Tags: India

100 pesos (US$2.20), 2009. Like Pick 194, but new date.

Courtesy of Sejin Ahn.

Tags: Philippines

According to an Inquirer Global Nation article dated 11 March 2010, former President Corazon Aquino and various tourist spots—including the underground river in Palawan—will be featured in the next generation of peso banknotes to be introduced in December 2010, according to OIC Central Bank Governor Diwa Guinigundo.

All denominations (20, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1,000 pesos) are being redesigned, but their colors will remain the same. Guinigundo said new personalities will be added to some of the notes, and existing portraits will be updated, while the backgrounds and vignettes will be changed to include the country’s famous tourist spots. New and old notes will circulate in parallel for up to three years.

More information can be found in this BSP press release dated 26 March 2010.

Courtesy of Leszek Porowski.

Tags: Philippines

5,000 won, 2008. Brown and pink. Front: Coat of arms; star; Kim Il Sung; mongnan (Seibold’s magnolia) flowers. Back: Trees; houses (birthplace of Kim Il Sung) in Mangyongdae. Solid security thread with printed text. Watermark: Mongnan (Seibold’s magnolia) flowers. Printer: Unknown. 145 x 65 mm. Intro: 30.11.2009.

Courtesy of Jean-Michel Engels.

Tags: North Korea

2,000 won, 2008. Light blue and gray. Front: Coat of arms; Jong Il Peak, trees, and cabin (birthplace of Kim Jong Il). Back: Trees and Baekdu (white-headed) Mountain. Solid security thread with printed text. Watermark: Mongnan (Seibold’s magnolia) flowers. Printer: Unknown. 145 x 65 mm.. Intro: 30.11.2009.

Courtesy of Jean-Michel Engels.

Tags: North Korea

500 won, 2008. Gray and purple. Front: Coat of arms; Arch of Triumph. Back: Denomination and guilloché pattern. Solid security thread with printed text. Watermark: Mongnan (Seibold’s magnolia) flowers. Printer: Unknown. Dimensions 145 x 65 mm. Intro: 30.11.2009.

Courtesy of Jean-Michel Engels.

Tags: North Korea

100 pesos (US$2.20), 2007. Like Pick 194, but new date.

Anyone interested in buying one of these notes can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw it mentioned here on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of banknoteshop@gmx.net.

Tags: Philippines

50 pesos (US$1.10), 2009. Like Pick 193, but new date.

Anyone interested in buying one of these notes can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw it mentioned here on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of banknoteshop@gmx.net.

Tags: Philippines

20 pesos (US$0.45), 2009. Like Pick 182, but new date.

Anyone interested in buying one of these notes can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw it mentioned here on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of banknoteshop@gmx.net.

Tags: Philippines

1 ringgit (US$0.30), no date. Like P39, but 3-character prefix. Serial number remains 7-digits long with signature of Zeti Akhtar Aziz. Introduced February 2010.

Courtesy of Vincent Tan.

Tags: Malaysia

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon introduce a 20-rupee (US$0.40) banknote without inset letter bearing the signature of Dr D Subbarao, Governor. Except for the change in the inset letter, the design of these notes to be issued now is similar in all respects to the banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi Series - 2005, with additional/new security features issued on 16 August 2006. All 20-rupee notes issued by the RBI in the past will continue to be legal tender.
Additional information and images are requested.

Tags: India

1,000 piso (US$21.70), 2009. Like Pick 197, but new date.

Anyone interested in buying one of these notes can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw it mentioned here on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of Rafal Nogowczyk.

Tags: Philippines

1,000 rupees (US$19.35), 2009. Like Pick 100, but new date and L inset letter.

Anyone interested in buying one of these notes can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw it mentioned here on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of Rafal Nogowczyk.

Tags: India

1,000 dollars (US$696), no date. Like Pick 43, but new signature (Goh Chok Tong), new issuer (Monetary Authority of Singapore), and two triangles below GOVERNMENT on back.

Anyone interested in buying these notes can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw them mentioned here on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of Vincent Tan.

Tags: Singapore

2 dollars (US$1.40), no date. Like Pick 46, but with two squares below EDUCATION on back.

Anyone interested in buying these notes can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw them mentioned here on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of Vincent Tan.

Tags: Singapore, Polymer

10 rupees (US$0.10), 2009. Like Pick 45, but new date and new signature of Syed Salim Raza, SBP Governor.

Anyone interested in buying one of these notes can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw it mentioned here on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of banknoteshop@gmx.net.

Tags: Pakistan

20 rupees (US$0.25), 2009. Like the Rs20 issued in 2007 and 2008, but new date and new signature of Syed Salim Raza, SBP Governor.

Anyone interested in buying one of these notes can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw it mentioned here on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of banknoteshop@gmx.net.

Tags: Pakistan

50 rupees (US$0.60), 2009. Like Pick 47, but new date and new signature of Syed Salim Raza, SBP Governor.

Anyone interested in buying one of these notes can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw it mentioned here on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of banknoteshop@gmx.net.

Tags: Pakistan

State Bank of Pakistan introduced a new 500-rupee (US$5.90) note on 25 January 2010. The new note bears the signature of Syed Salim Raza, SBP Governor. The new note is like Pick 49, which was introduced in 2006, except on right front it now features the Pakistani flag of a crescent and five-pointed star in green-to-magenta OVI. Both notes will circulate in parallel.

Courtesy of Jean-Michel Engels.

Tags: Pakistan

10,000 to 500,000 dong. Like Pick 119-124, but new date (20)09.

Courtesy of Torsten Fuhlendorf.

Tags: Vietnam, Polymer

200 won, 2008. Violet. Front: Coat of arms; statue of woman with wheat and man with book riding Chollima (thousand mile horse) in Pyongyang. Back: Denomination and guilloché pattern. Solid security thread with printed text. Watermark: Mongnan (Seibold’s magnolia) flowers. Printer: Unknown. 145 x 65. Intro: 30.11.2009.

Courtesy of Torsten Fuhlendorf.

Tags: North Korea

100 won, 2008. Green. Front: Coat of arms; mongnan (Seibold’s magnolia) flowers. Back: Denomination and guilloché pattern. Solid security thread with printed text. Watermark: Mongnan (Seibold’s magnolia) flowers. Printer: Unknown. 145 x 65. Intro: 30.11.2009.

Courtesy of Torsten Fuhlendorf.

Tags: North Korea

According to an article in The Jakarta Post dated 4 February 2010, “Bank Indonesia's (BI) plan to start minting 800 million new Rp 1,000 (about 10 US cents) coins has been delayed until April, a central bank official says. Yopie Alimudin, the central bank's deputy director for currency circulation said, as quoted by kompas.com, that the original plan was to start minting the new coin in February, but it was delayed due to “certain reasons”. He did not elaborate. BI had planned to issue a Rp 2,000 banknote (about 22 US cents) and a Rp 1,000 coin this year. Only the new banknote has been circulating. The Rp 2,000 bill will be the country's smallest denomination banknote once the Rp 1,000 coin takes the place of the existing Rp 1,000 bill. The new coins, like the new bill, will use Braille making them more convenient for visually impaired people. BI is preparing new designs and security systems to discourage counterfeiters. The last time BI issued new-look banknotes was in 2005, with its release of new Rp 50,000 and Rp 100,000 bills. The central bank will issue approximately Rp 5.6 billion worth of banknotes and coins this year. At present, BI coins come in denominations of Rp 100, Rp 200, and Rp 500, while banknotes are in denominations of either Rp 1,000, Rp 5,000, Rp 10,000, Rp 20,000, Rp 50,000 or Rp 100,000.”

Tags: Indonesia

20 rufiyaa (US$1.55), 2008/AH1430. Like Pick 20, but new date (29.12.2008) and new signature (unknown).

Courtesy of Rui Manuel Palhares.

Tags: Maldives

10 won, 2002. Blue, green, and purple. Front: Coat of arms; star; pilot, sailor, and soldier. Back: Military statues with soldier holding flag. No security thread. Watermark: Mongnan (Seibold’s magnolia) flowers. Printer: Unknown. 145 x 65 mm. Intro: 30.11.2009.


50 won, 2002. Purple. Front: Coat of arms; flame atop Juche Idea monument in Pyongyang; man in business suit, man in overalls, and woman wearing blouse. Back: Party Foundation Monument in Pyongyang with hands holding hammer, paint brush, and sickle. No security thread. Watermark: Mongnan (Seibold’s magnolia) flowers. Printer: Unknown. 145 x 65 mm. Intro: 30.11.2009.

Courtesy of Torsten Fuhlendorf.

Tags: North Korea

100 rupees (US$2), 2009.
Like Pick 98, but new date (2008), new signature (D. Subbarao, Governor), and F inset letter.

Courtesy of Alberto Fochi.

Tags: India

50 rupees (US$0.95)
Like Pick 97, but new date (2008), new signature (Dr. Y. V. Reddy, Governor), and E inset letter.

Courtesy of Alberto Fochi.

Tags: India

100 dollars (US$12.85), 1 JANUARY 2008. Like Pick 209, but new date and new signature.

Courtesy of Christof Zellweger.

Tags: Hong Kong

5 won, 2002. Blue, green, and purple. Front: Coat of arms; atomic symbol; man with glasses; boy with cap. Back: Dam. No security thread. Watermark: Mongnan (Seibold’s magnolia) flowers. Printer: Unknown. 145 x 65 mm. Intro: 30.11.2009.

Courtesy of Alberto Fochi.

Tags: North Korea

1,000 rupees (US$13.65)
Like Pick 66, but without rhododendron printed atop watermark area. Introduced 8 January 2010.

Blue, brown, and green. Front: Mount Everest; goddess Bhagwati; Swayambhunath stupa and temple of goddess Harati; obverse of coin. Back: Elephant; bank logo. 4-mm wide windowed security thread with demetalized NRB. Watermark: Rhododendron. Printer: Unknown. 172 x 70 mm.

Anyone interested in buying one of these notes can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw it mentioned here on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of Claudio Marana, Ömer Yalcinkaya, and Shankar Shrestha.

Tags: Nepal

In a press release dated 15 December 2009, Bangladesh Bank announced the 18.11.2009 introduction of a 1,000-taka (US$14.45) note signed by Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman. It appears to be a new date/signature variety only.

Additional information and images are requested.

Courtesy of Nat Denkin and Mohammed Islam.

Tags: Bangladesh

This 5-won note is like Pick 19 with an original date of 1978, but overprinted in black “Sun’s Day, Celebration, 90th Anniversary 15th. 4. Juche 91 (2002)” in honor of the 90th birthday (15.04.2002) of President Kim Il Sung.

Does anyone know if other denominations are available with this overprint, and if this was issued as a commemorative note or as a numismatic product not intended for circulation?

Courtesy of Bill Stubkjaer.

Tags: North Korea

All denominations of notes from Bank Indonesia have now been confirmed dated 2009 with new signatures.




Courtesy of Claudio Marana and Bill Stubkjaer.

Tags: Indonesia

According to a VNBusinessNews.com article dated 02.12.2009, Nguyen Ngoc Bao, the director of the Monetary Policy Department, has denied rumors that the State Bank of Vietnam plans to issue 1,000,000-dong (US$54) banknotes. At present the largest denomination in Vietnam is the polymer 500,000-dong note (Pick 124, shown above).

Courtesy of Thomas Krause.

Tags: Vietnam, Polymer

50 dollars (US$34.80), no date. Like Pick 49, but new signature and one square below the word ARTS on back.

Courtesy of Vincent Tan.

Tags: Singapore

100 dollars (US$72.15). Like Pick 42, but now issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and signed by Chairman Goh Chok Tong. Despite the lower denominations having made the transition to polymer, this note remains printed on paper. This note has been confirmed in varieties with one and two squares below the word YOUTH on the back. If anyone has an example of this note without a square, or with more than two squares, please send images of same.

Courtesy of Tan Wi Jie and Vincent Tan.

Tags: Singapore

According to a press release, on 17.11.2009 the Central Bank of Sri Lanka introduced a new 1,000-rupee (US$8.75) commemorative banknote to mark the ushering of peace and prosperity to Sri Lanka.

In terms of section 52 A (1) (a) and ( b) of the Monetary Law Act (Amendment) No.6 of 1998, with the approval of the Hon. Minister of Finance, the Central Bank issues commemorative coins and notes. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka issued the first commemorative note to mark the 50th Anniversary of Independence of Sri Lanka in 1998 and this is the second commemorative note that is being issued.

The theme on the obverse of the note is one country and one nation in harmony, progressing towards prosperity under the leadership of His Excellency President, Mahinda Rajapaksa. The obverse depicts the image of His Excellency President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, which is to the right of the note. A map of Sri Lanka with the rising sun in the background and a “Punkalasa” with ears of paddy at center left depicts territorial integrity and prosperity respectively, that are results of national harmony and peace.

The valiant contribution made by the nation’s victorious sons and daughters of the security forces and the police is the theme on the reverse of the note. The design at the center depicts the hoisting of the national flag by members of the security forces. Images of the Mavil Aru annicut and Thoppigala rock (Baron’s Cap) that were turning points of humanitarian operations of the security forces appear in the background.

The size of the note is 157 mm x 78.5 mm and the predominant colour is blue. The notes are identified by a serial prefix of Q and the numbers of the notes are starting from Q/1 000001 onwards and appear on the obverse in Arabic numerals, horizontally on the left and vertically on the right of the note.

The note contains several current security features. The watermark depicting the heraldic lion of Sri Lanka, with the sword highlighted in a panel clear of printing and Cornerstones as hitherto used in current Sri Lanka Rs 1000 note, 1.2 mm wide windowed clear text security thread, see-through feature in exact registration and invisible fluorescent printing have been incorporated in the note.
The note carries the signatures in facsimile of His Excellency the President and Minister of Finance, Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Mr Ajith Nivard Cabraal, with the date 2009-05-20.

The note was issued to His Excellency President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, by the Governor of the Central Bank, Mr Ajith Nivard Cabraal on 17th November 2009 at the John Exter International Conference Hall of the Central Bank in Colombo. A limited number of notes with the first serial numbers in an attractive folder will be issued at a price of Rs. 1,500 each.

The note will be legal tender in Sri Lanka for the payment of any amount and will be a liability of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka whilst in circulation.

Courtesy of Aidan Work and Vincent Tan.

Tags: Sri Lanka

500 baht (US$15.05), no date. Like Pick 107, but new signature (Korn & Tharisa Wattanaket). All banknote denominations of series 15 are now complete with this signature type.

Courtesy of Sanjay Basu.

Tags: Thailand

Apparently there are two varieties of North Korea’s 500-won note dated 1998 (Pick 44). The first one features fine lines in the clouds surrounding the palace on the front (above, top). On the second one, reportedly issued in 2002 or 2005, the fine lines of the clouds blur into a solid fog as they get closer to the palace (above, bottom). There are also slight differences in the clouds depicted on the back of the note, and it appears that the color of the square seal with star on the watermark area may also be different, though this may be due to variations in printing over time.

Courtesy of Rui Manuel Palhares.

Tags: North Korea

I am working on a new catalog of world notes and I need all the help I can get. If you have any of the notes listed below, please email 300-dpi, 100% actual size, 24-bit color scans of the front and back of these notes, saved as uncompressed JPEG, BMP, or TIFF. Please download and follow these detailed scanning instructions.

I am looking for 300-dpi images of the following banknotes of North Korea:

Pick 1
Pick 4b (without watermark)

As a contributor, you will receive the satisfaction of taking part in creating something of excellence, your note will be immortalized as the plate note for the catalog, plus your name will appear in the Acknowledgements along with your email address or URL, if you wish.

Thanks in advance for everyone's cooperation!

Tags: North Korea

According to a Finance.ua report dated 06.12.2009, the Bank of Russia plans to update the security features of its 1,000-ruble (US$32.85) note in the second half of 2010. The design of the note will be based upon the existing 1,000-ruble note (Pick 277) which was last updated in 2004.

Tags: Russia

1,000 rupees (US$11.90), 2009. Like Pick 50, but new date and new signature (Governor Syed Salim Raza).

Courtesy of Jean-Michel Engels.

Tags: Pakistan

Central Bank of Afghanistan introduces a new family of Afghani Banknotes

At a press-conference held on Mizan 13, 1388 (2009) the Central Bank Governor, His Excellency Abdul Qadeer Fitrat, announced that a new family of banknotes would soon be released to the public.

The bank notes are machine readable, of better quality and have more advanced security features than current banknotes. The security features provide robust protection against counterfeiting.

As a result of the improved quality of the banknotes Governor Fitrat reported that the new banknotes will have a greater longevity (4 years) than existing banknotes (3 years).

The Central bank will gradually replace the existing 85 billion Afs that have been issued to date with the new and improved notes. Old, mutilated and dirty notes will be gradually removed from circulation and destroyed in the Central Banks furnace.

The introduction of new banknotes is standard procedure for central banks around the world. Previously, Afghanistan had three separate currencies which lead to hyper-inflation and macroeconomic instability. The currency reform of 1381 introduced a single currency which is issued exclusively by the central Bank. As a result of these reforms the Afghani currency is one of the most stable currencies in the region.

Additional information and images are requested.

Courtesy of Ömer Yalcinkaya.

Tags: Afghanistan

5,000 rupees (US$59.40), 2008. Like Pick 51, but new date and new signature (Governor Shamshad Akhtar).

5,000 rupees (US$59.40), 2009. Like Pick 51, but new date and new signature (Governor Syed Salim Raza).

Courtesy of Jean-Michel Engels.

Tags: Pakistan

I am working on a new catalog of world notes and I need all the help I can get. If you have any of the notes listed below, please email 300-dpi, 100% actual size, 24-bit color scans of the front and back of these notes, saved as uncompressed JPEG, BMP, or TIFF. Please download and follow these detailed scanning instructions.

I am looking for 300-dpi images of the following banknotes of Pakistan:

Pick 1A
Pick 3A
Pick 11
Pick R1
Pick R2
100-rupee note dated 2009

As a contributor, you will receive the satisfaction of taking part in creating something of excellence, your note will be immortalized as the plate note for the catalog, plus your name will appear in the Acknowledgements along with your email address or URL, if you wish.

Thanks in advance for everyone's cooperation!

Tags: Pakistan

Color varieties for South Korea 1,000-won (US$0.85) note (Pick 47) from 1983 have recently been reported. Specifically, it appears that the portrait on the front and the buildings on the back are purple on one variety, and brown on the other variety. Furthermore, on the “purple” variety, the numerals 1000 at lower right on back are blue, whereas they are purple on the “brown” variety. Finally, the engraving or printing on the “brown” variety appears sharper than the “purple” variety, though there are no other differences in the text, underprinting, watermarks, or other security features.

The scans below were created at the same time, so the color variations are not a result of differences in the equipment. Collectors are encouraged to examine their notes and report if they can verify these differences on other examples. Also, I would appreciate hearing from collectors who can determine which of these notes came first based upon their serial number prefixes.

Purple Brown

Purple
Brown

Courtesy of Kevin Klauss.

Tags: South Korea

I am working on a new catalog of world notes and I need all the help I can get. If you have any of the notes listed below, please email 300-dpi, 100% actual size, 24-bit color scans of the front and back of these notes, saved as uncompressed JPEG, BMP, or TIFF. Please download and follow these detailed scanning instructions.

I am looking for 300-dpi images of the following banknotes of South Korea:

Pick 15
Pick 18
Pick 20
Pick 22
Pick 23
Pick 24
Pick 26
Pick 27
Pick 38A
Pick 53

As a contributor, you will receive the satisfaction of taking part in creating something of excellence, your note will be immortalized as the plate note for the catalog, plus your name will appear in the Acknowledgements along with your email address or URL, if you wish.

Thanks in advance for everyone's cooperation!

Tags: South Korea

It has recently been reported that the North Korea 100-won note dated 1992 (Pick 43) is available with three different watermark varieties: small Arch of Triumph at angle, large Arch of Triumph straight on, and no watermark. The color scheme and printing on the note with the bigger arch watermark is slightly lighter than the others.



This new find helps explain why some denominations of the new 95th anniversary commemorative notes issued in 2007 lack watermarks whereas their regular note counterparts had previously been reported only with watermarks. It appears that North Korea has switched some notes to paper without watermarks as a cost-cutting measure.

Collectors are encouraged to examine their North Korean notes carefully and report any other denominations which have different watermark varieties.

Courtesy of Ömer Yalcinkaya.

Tags: North Korea

According to an article in The Economic Times dated 08.12.09, the Reserve Bank of India is replacing 1- and 2-rupee banknotes with coins due to the short life span and high costs of printing small-denomination notes. In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena said, "The notes of these denominations have been coinised…The Reserve Bank has informed that in view of the short life span of the lower denominations notes of Re 1, Rs 2, and Rs 5 and the high cost involved in printing and processing of soiled notes of these denominations, the government has decided to discontinue the printing of lower denominations notes," Meena said.

Tags: India

In a press release dated 02.12.2009, Bangladesh Bank announced the 06.12.2009 introduction of a 20-taka (US$0.30) note signed by Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman. It appears to be a new date/signature variety only.

Additional information and images are requested.

Courtesy of Nat Denkin and Mohammed J. Islam.

Tags: Bangladesh

According to a report on DailyNK, the North Korean central bank has revalued and is replacing the national currency as of 30 November 2009. With the exchange rate of 100:1, the formerly largest denomination of 5,000 won is now equivalent to 50 new won. Apparently there are nine new won notes ranging from 5 to 5,000 won, which matches the previous currency structure with the exception that the 1-won note has been replaced by a coin and the 2,000-won denomination is new.

There is little concrete information on the reason for this move. Speculation is that the government hopes to dampen inflation, harm the black market, or uncover large caches of hidden cash. The official exchange rate of the won had been 140 to the US dollar, but on the black market it traded at closer to 3,000 to one.

Initially, the government planned to allow each household to exchange up to 100,000 won for new banknotes, but in the face of public protests, the exchangeable amount has been increased, initially to 150,000 won, then later to 500,000 won. These limitations apply only to cash; won deposited in banks can be converted, but only after officials investigate the source of funds over one million won. Citizens have from between 30 November and 6 December to exchange currency. New notes will start circulating from 7 December.



Courtesy of Paul Nahmias and Alex Klark.

Tags: North Korea

According to a Korea Times article dated 11-10-2009, some South Koreans have difficulty distinguishing between the new 50,000-won (US$43.20) note and the old 5,000-won (US$4.30) note due to “their physical similarity” and are calling for the government to change the color of the highest-value banknotes.

The Bank of Korea, however, says no countermeasures are being considered at this time, adding there are several identification devices applied to the bills: The 50,000-won bills are longer than 5,000-won notes by 12 millimeters, and a hologram on their surface is easily noticeable in dark places. "Such criticism is somewhat groundless because U.S. dollar bills are issued all in the same color but not subject to such confusion," a BOK official said on condition of anonymity. "The two bills are different in color, as 50,000-won bills are yellow and 5,000-won bills are reddish-yellow."

It’s hard to imagine how anyone can confuse the two notes since they are of clearly different colors, feature very different portraits, and have easily distinguishable security threads and holographic elements. However, I gave some thought to the BOK official’s defense that the US dollar isn’t subject to confusion. Perhaps it is precisely because the US notes are all the same size and approximate color that the public is forced to pay particular attention to their printed denominations.

In this case, the US benefits from a limited number of denominations, all of which can be expressed by one, two, or three easily distinguished digits: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100. When looking at the 5,000- and 50,000-won notes, you see that it’s not easy to know the denomination at a glance because you must stop to count the zeros. An easy fix to this problem would be to use a space-holder character such as a comma, or make the last three zeros shorter than the other digits so that the 5 and 50 would stand out.

Tags: South Korea

500 won, 2007. Green and purple. Front: Coat of arms; Kumsusan Memorial Palace (Kim Il Sung Mausoleum) in Pyongyang; mongnan (Seibold’s magnolia) flowers. Back: Suspension bridge over river; olive branch. No security thread. Watermark: Unknown. Printer: Unknown. 155 x 75 mm.

Like Pick 44, but new date and the banner beneath the denomination on the bottom right and left front does not extend to note’s edge.

Courtesy of Rui Manuel Palhares.

Tags: North Korea

The Reserve Bank of India is expected to issue a new 50-rupee (US$1.10) banknote with L inset letter in both numbering panels in the Mahatma Gandhi Series -2005 bearing the signature of D. Subbarao, governor.

Except for the change in the inset letter, the design of these notes to be issued is similar in all respects to the banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi Series - 2005, with additional / new security features issued on 24 August 2005.

Tags: India

According to an All Headline News article dated 19 November 2009, Bangladesh Bank plans to use a portrait of founding father Bangabandhu Sheikh Mijubur Rahman on all new currency. The central bank has requested the finance ministry’s approval of its plans. If granted, new banknotes and coins are scheduled for 2010.

Tags: Bangladesh

10 ringgit (US$7.20), 2008. Like Pick 24, but new date. Polymer.

The 1-ringgit note has also been reported dated 2008. If you have this note, please send high-resolution scans of same.

Courtesy of Thomas Krause.

Tags: Polymer, Brunei

50 patacas (US$6.25). 8 DE AGOSTO DE 2009.

Front: The Sai Wan Bridge as principal illustration and in the upper left corner, in the vertical, the legend <<50 PATACAS>> in Portuguese; and in the lower right corner the same legend, in vertical, in Chinese characters and in the horizontal, in Portuguese. A see-through pattern shows a registered image on both sides of the note. An electrotype watermark is placed below the watermark of the lotus flower showing the denomination value in Arabic character.

Back: In the lower right corner in the horizontal, the legend <<50 PATACAS>> in Chinese characters and in the upper left corner, in the vertical, the same legend in Portuguese. As principal illustration, on the left the Banco Nacional Ultramarino building and in the right of the principal illustration, the caravel logotype of Banco Nacional Ultramarino. A windowed holographic thread runs vertically through the middle left hand side of the note. Novel serial numbering both for the vertical and horizontal format appears on the reverse side of the note.

Size: 148 mm X 74 mm
Printer - Hong Kong Note Printing Limited - Hong Kong.
Entry into circulation - November 2009.
Quantity Issued: 5 million notes

Anyone interested in buying these notes can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw them mentioned here on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of Simon Sui, who purchased the note from Yi Chen (IBNS 10210).

Tags: Macau

1,000 won. Green and light blue. Front: Coat of arms; flowers; Kim Il Sung. Back: Trees; houses (birthplace of Kim Il Sung) in Mangyongdae. No security thread. Watermark: Arch of Triumph. 155 x 75 mm. Dated 2006.

Like Pick 45, but new date and the banner beneath the denomination on the bottom right and left front does not extend to note’s edge.

Courtesy of Thomas Augustsson.

Tags: North Korea

10 rupees (US$0.20). 2008. Like Pick 95c, but M inset letter.


20 rupees (US$0.40). 2007. Like Pick 96b, but E inset letter.


100 rupees (US$2.15). 2008. Like Pick 98d, but S inset letter.

Courtesy of Alberto Fochi.

Tags: India

20 pesos (US$0.40). Like Pick 182, but new date (2005) and UN Year of Microcredit 2005 ovpt.

Courtesy of Alberto Fochi.

Tags: Philippines

On 9 September 2009, Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) began issuing one million 150-dollar (US$19.35) banknotes to commemorate its 150-year anniversary. The commemorative banknotes is legal tender, but was sold at a premium over face value. A single HK$150 note cost HK$280, a pane of four notes costs HK$1,888, and a full sheet of 35 notes is priced at HK$18,888.

Standard Chartered has also selected 100 notes with special lucky serial numbers for public bidding and another 10,000 pieces for which the public can pick a serial number of their choice. There are three categories of lucky number notes, with minimum bid prices of HK$10,000, HK$6,000 and HK$3,000. The "single self-selected serial number" notes will be offered at HK$888 each by lottery. Net proceeds will go to the bank's community foundation in support of local community projects and charities.

The front of the banknote, designed by Austrian graphic designer Henry Steiner, who has designed banknotes for Standard Chartered since 1975, features a satellite image of Victoria Harbour with the lender's corporate blue and green as the main color tones. The reverse side demonstrates the history of Hong Kong through iconic Images of people from all walks of life taking in the view of the Victoria Harbour from the Peak: a policeman, a mother and her chlld in a traditional back carrier, a bird fancier, a worker, a woman with a parasol, a businessman on his mobile phone, and a school boy pointing at a hawk. These Images demonstrate how the people of Hong Kong have contributed to the city's success through the past 150 years.



Courtesy of Kai Hwong and Thomas Augustsson.

Tags: Hong Kong

100 taka (US$1.45). Like Pick 49, but new date, new signature, and new title on back.

There are now at least three 100-taka note varieties dated 2009. One is signed by Governor Salehuddin Ahmed, and the other two are signed by Governor Atiur Rahman, but the signatures are slightly different (see below).



In addition to the signature change, the text on the back of the note has changed slightly, too. The text on the first note reads Bangabandhu Bridge (named after Sheikh Mujibar Rahman whose official title was Bangabandhu), and the new one reads Jamuna Bridge (named after the river it spans).




Courtesy of Jean-Michel Engels and Nazir Rahemtulla.

Tags: Bangladesh

On 1 October 2009, Myanmar issued a 5,000-kyat banknote, the largest denomination in the Asian country formerly known as Burma. The undated, unsigned 150 x 70 mm purple note features an elephant on front and buildings on back.

Courtesy of Jean-Michel Engels.

Tags: Myanmar, Burma

Collectors in Singapore have recently discovered that some of the polymer notes in circulation have small squares beneath the titles on the back vignette. Specifically, the 2-dollar note (Pick 46) has been confirmed both with and without a single square beneath the word EDUCATION, and the 10-dollar note (not listed in SCWPM; shown above) has been confirmed with none, one, and two squares beneath the word SPORTS.

If anyone knows the purpose of these squares, or is aware of other denominations or varieties, please share your info and images.

Anyone interested in buying these notes can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw them mentioned here on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of Vincent Tan.

Tags: Singapore, Polymer

500 rupees (US$6.50)
Like Pick 65, but without rhododendron printed atop watermark (unknown; presumably not King Gyanendra), and new signature (Deependra Bahadur Chhettri). Introduced 20.09.2009. Reportedly printed in France.

A new 1,000-rupee note is expected in December. Presumably it will be like Pick 66, but again without the rhododendron printed atop watermark.

Anyone interested in buying these notes can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw them mentioned here on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of Claudio Marana and Shankar Shrestha.

Tags: Nepal

5 rupees (US$0.06). Like preceding Rs5 note, but new date and new signature of Governor Syed Salim Raza. Introduced 15 May 2009.

Courtesy of Jean-Michel Engels.

Tags: Pakistan

According to a 17 September 2009 press release, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon issue a 500-rupee (US$10.40) note with E inset letter and signature of D. Subbarao, governor.

Except for the change in the inset letter, the design of these notes to be issued now is similar in all respects to the banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi Series - 2005, with additional/ new security features issued on 21 October 2005.

All banknotes in the denomination of Rs 500 in Mahatma Gandhi series issued by RBI from the year 2000 will continue to be legal tender.

Tags: India

While editing the Bangladesh chapter of my new catalog of world notes, Bill Stubkjaer and I confirmed that his example of the Bangladesh 20-taka note of 1979 (Pick 22) has an error in the printed solid security thread. Specifically, the words BANGLADESH BANK are repeated on the thread, but the Bs are backwords and BANK is spelled with an X, not a K:

I'd appreciate it if collectors would examine their own examples of this note and report if varieties exist with the correct spelling. Please post comments with your findings either way.

Tags: Bangladesh, Error

On 9 July 2009, Bank Indonesia introduced a brand new 2,000-rupiah (US$0.20) note which joins the currently circulating denominations of 1,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, and 100,000 rupiah. Bank Indonesia states that the banknote is fulfilling a need among the Indonesian population to have a value between the much-used values of 1,000 and 5,000 rupiah.

The mainly gray-colored banknote measures 141 x 65 and features a portrait of Prince Antasari on the front. He is a national hero from Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan. At the back side is a drawing of a traditional Dayak dance. The display of a national hero is a continuation of the current set of banknotes already in circulation, which all feature national Indonesian heroes. The banknote has a watermark of the prince, a solid security thread with printed BI 2000, and microprinting.

Anyone interested in buying these notes can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw them mentioned here on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of Sejin Ahn and Ricardo Castedo.

Tags: Indonesia

The following 25-som note from Uzbekistan is dated 1994 and depicts the Kazi-Zadé Rumi mausoleum in the Shakhi-Zinda necropolis in Samarkand, which also appears on the issued note of the same denomination (Pick 77). However, the note with the specimen serial number of AB1234567 is printed on smaller (120 x 62 mm versus 144 x 68 mm) paper than the issued note. The paper has the same star pattern watermark and solid security thread as the 1- and 3-som notes (Pick 73 and 74).

This appears to be an unissued design, but anyone with additional information is encouraged to share. I’m especially interested to learn if there are other unadopted designs for this series of notes.





Courtesy of Peter Kelly.

Tags: Uzbekistan

500 taka (US$7.30). Like P38, but new date (2009), new signature Atiur Rahman, Governor, and with a monochrome (not two-tone) denomination in the upper left front.

Courtesy of Claudio Marana and Jean-Michel Engels.

Tags: Bangladesh

10 rupees (US$0.20), 2009. Like P95, but new date (2009), and new signature (Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor since 06.09.2008).

Courtesy of Claudio Marana.

Tags: India

20 rupees (US$0.40), 2009. Like P96, but new date (2009), new signature (Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor since 06.09.2008), and E inset letter.

Courtesy of Claudio Marana.

Tags: India

50 rupees (US$1.00), 2009. Like P97, but new date (2009), and new signature (Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor since 06.09.2008).

Courtesy of Claudio Marana.

Tags: India

500 rupees (US$10.30), 2009. Like P99, but new date (2009), new signature (Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor since 06.09.2008), and R inset letter.

Courtesy of Jean-Michel Engels.

Tags: India

1,000 rupees (US$20.55), 2009. Like P100, but new date (2009), new signature (Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor since 06.09.2008), and R inset letter.

Courtesy of Jean-Michel Engels.

Tags: India

20 pisos (US$0.40). Like Pick 182i, but date now has suffix (2008 A).

Courtesy of Rodney Hall.

Tags: Philippines

100 taka (US$1.45). Like Pick 49, but new date (2009) and G9 signature of Salehuddin Ahmed.

Courtesy of Mohammed J. Islam.

Tags: Bangladesh

500 rupees (US$9.65), 2009. Like P93, but new date, new signature (Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor since 06.09.2008), and no inset letter.

Courtesy of Dr. Manjunath P. Iyer.

Tags: India

This 50-ringgit note is like the preceding commemorative issue of 2007, but without the 50th anniversary logo and RM 1957-2007 text on the back. Furthermore, the windowed thread is color-shifting and wider, the governor’s signature is larger, and the numeral 50 is printed in two-color fluorescent ink on the back.


B49 (PNL): 50 ringgit (US$14.25)
Green-blue. Front: National flower hibiscus; songket weaving patterns; Tuanku Abdul Rahman. Back: Oil palm trees; microbiology technology; Malaysia’s first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj declaring independence. Holographic stripe. Red-to-green windowed security thread with demetalized BNM RM50. Watermark: Rahman with electrotype 50. Printer: (G&D). 145 x 69 mm. No date. Signature 6. Intro: 15.07.2009. Replacement notes: Prefix ZB.

Courtesy of Kai Hwong.

Tags: Malaysia

Following the 1 August 2009 death of former president Corazon “Cory” Aquino, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is considering adding her portrait to the 500-piso (US$10.50) note which has featured a portrait of her husband and former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. since 20 August 1987. If approved, the new note would be available in the last quarter of 2010.

Tags: Philippines

100 taka (US$1.45). Like Pick 49, but new date (2009) and new signature of Atiur Rahman, who took over as governor on 01.05.2009.

Courtesy of Mirsad Delic.

Tags: Bangladesh

I’ve received confirmation from the Bank of the Lao PDR that in November it began withdrawing the 1,000-kip (US$0.10) note which it had introduced just this past October. The bank representative stated only that it was done at “the government’s discretion,” because the note depicts three actual people based upon photographs, not an artist’s rendering of representative women. This low-cost note is not likely to become a modern rarity, but you may want to pick one up for your collection while supplies last and prices are low.

Tags: Laos

10 rupees (US$0.15). Like Pick 45, but new date (2008).

Courtesy of Sejin Ahn.

Tags: Pakistan

I am working on a new catalog of world notes and I need all the help I can get. If you have any of the notes listed below, please email 300-dpi, 100% actual size, 24-bit color scans of the front and back of these notes, saved as uncompressed JPEG, BMP, or TIFF. Please download and follow these detailed scanning instructions.

I am looking for 300-dpi images of the following banknotes of Maldives:

Pick 6a ١٩٥١ - ١٣٧٠ (1951/AH1370). Signature 1.

As a contributor, you will receive the satisfaction of taking part in creating something of excellence, your note will be immortalized as the plate note for the catalog, plus your name will appear in the Acknowledgements along with your email address or URL, if you wish.

Thanks in advance for everyone's cooperation!

Tags: Maldives

50-tögrög (Like Pick 64, but new date (2008) and new signature.

Courtesy of Sejin Ahn.

Tags: Mongolia

|

This 100-rupee remainder note from Burma has recently been reported. It is dated 1st January 1948 and looks identical to Pick 37, but is without serial numbers. Please contact me if you have additional information about this note or other unlisted remainders from Burma so that I can include them in my catalog.

Courtesy of Rodney Hall.

Tags: Burma

According to a 27 July 2009 article in The New Light of Myanmar, the official English-language newspaper of the Asian country formerly known as Burma, old banknotes “can be exchanged for new ones provided that the note is in specified condition at notes changing counter of Central Bank of Myanmar at No (198/ 199) at the corner of Bo Sun Pak Street and Strand Road and respective branches of Myanma Economic Bank. Arrangements have been made for exchange of old notes for new ones, ranging from K 10 to K 200 notes.”

This is a rather curious announcement as most central banks cull worn notes from circulation as a matter of course. It does not appear that Myanmar is introducing new designs, even though its note family is overdue for a change; Interpol recommends central banks modify security features every seven years or so. The last time Myanmar changed its notes was in 2004, when the 500- and 1,000-kyat notes were reduced in size. All other denominations have remained unchanged since the mid-1990s.

Tags: Myanmar

20 rupees (US$0.25). Like Pick 46, but new date (2008).

Courtesy of Sejin Ahn.

Tags: Pakistan

On 9 July 2009, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) introduced 12 million banknotes with an overprint commemorating 60 years of central banking. The overprint appears on the watermark area on all six circulating denominations: 20-, 50-; 100-; 200-; 500-, and 1,000-piso.

Tags: Philippines

The SCWPM lists two date varieties for the 10-rufiyaa from Maldives (Pick 19): 1998 and 2006. As it turns out, there are actually two varieties dated 1998. The difference is that the first variety has the printer imprint of DE LA RUE at bottom center on back, whereas the second variety is without the imprint, as is the 2006 note. The transition from with to without imprint appears to take place between serial number prefixes C and D, although this has not been confirmed.

Courtesy of Bill Stubkjaer.

Tags: Maldives

The SCWPM lists three date varieties for the 5-rufiyaa from Maldives (Pick 18): 1998, 2000, and 2006. As it turns out, there are actually two varieties dated 2000. The difference is that the first variety has the printer imprint of DE LA RUE at bottom center on back, as does the 1998 note, whereas the second variety is without the imprint, as is the 2006 note. The transition from with to without imprint appears to take place between serial number prefixes E and F, although this has not been confirmed.

Courtesy of Bill Stubkjaer.

Tags: Maldives

The Fuzhou Branch of the People’s Bank of China denied rumors that a new 500-yuan (US$73.20) note will be released by November 2009. Fueled by fears of inflation, rumors of the new banknote have been floating around since 2006. Wei Guoqi, a senior official at the People’s Bank of China, declared “it's not true,” and stated that no formal notice about the introduction of any new banknotes had been received. Images of the purported new note bearing a portrait of Deng Xiaoping are considered a hoax.

Tags: China

The Reserve Bank of India will soon introduce a 100-rupee (US$2.05) note with F inset letter in both numbering panels in the Mahatma Gandhi Series.

Additional information and images requested.

Tags: India

On 15 July .2009, Bank Negara Malaysia introduced a new design 50-ringgit (US$14) banknote. This new design of RM50 banknote is the first denomination of the Fourth Series of Malaysian currency notes which will be replacing the existing series in stages.The earlier new design of RM50 banknote (images below) was issued in December 2007 to commemorate Malaysia's 50th Anniversary of Independence. This current series no longer has the logo of the country's golden jubilee celebrations at upper right on back and has the following enhanced security features:

• The Colour Shifting Security Thread which replaces the existing security thread and is embedded in the paper. The thread appears on the reverse side of the note as coloured intermittent lines. When held against light, it is seen as a continuous dark coloured line and the repeated text of BNM RM50 can be read. When the note is tilted, the colour of the thread changes from red to green and vice versa. Under ultra-violet light, the repeated text of BNM RM50 will fluoresce yellow and the thread is seen as a continuous fluorescent yellow line when the banknote is viewed from the obverse.

• The Two-Coloured Fluorescent Elements is an additional invisible printed feature on the reverse of the note. Under ultra-violet light, a complex design two-colour numeral 50 will fluoresce.
• The existing security features which are designed for public verification remains as follows:

• The Watermark Portrait can be recognised by tints that are lighter or darker than the surrounding paper. This watermark portrait which has a three-dimensional effect appears without sharp outlines. At the base of the watermark, the numeral 50 is clearly visible.
• Perfect See-Through Register features the songket design on the obverse and reverse of the banknote when it is held against the light.
• Invisible Fluorescent Elements of the background on the obverse and reverse of the banknote which fluoresces in different colours under ultra-violet light.
• Micro-Letterings of "BNM RM50" which can be viewed under a magnifying glass.
• Holographic Stripe features the numeral 50 and hibiscus flower.
• Multicolor Latent Image where the numeral 50 is visible when the banknote is tilted slightly and changes colour when it is rotated.
• Anti-Scanner feature in which certain design cannot be captured by scanning machines.
• Braille Feature for the visually impaired.

Courtesy of Hon H. Mak.

Tags: Malaysia

50 baht (US$1.45). Like Pick 112 but new signatures of Korn Chatikavanij (กรณ์ จาติกวณิช, Minister of Finance) and Tharisa Watthanaket (ธาริษา วัฒนเกส, Governor ).

Courtesy of Sejin Ahn.

Tags: Thailand

5 taka (US$0.05), 2009. Like Pick 46, but new date and solid security thread. Signature: Salehuddin Ahmed.

Courtesy of Thomas Augustsson.

Tags: Bangladesh

2,000 rupees (US$17.40). Like Pick 121, but new date (2006-07-03) and new signatures.

Courtesy of Rui Manuel Palhares.

Tags: Sri Lanka

According to a BuinessMirror report dated 8 July 2009, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is planning to replace its existing abaca-and-cotton banknotes with polymer notes. Deputy BSP governor and officer in charge, Armando Suratos, provided no details on the timing of such a move, but stated that it would result in savings over the long term as polymer notes outlast paper notes in circulation even though they are initially more costly to produce. No further details are available at this time.

Tags: Philippines, Polymer

All denominations from Afghanistan (10, 20, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 afghanis) have been confirmed issued with the new date of 1383H (2004). The smaller denominations appear to be new date/signature varieties only, but the designs of the 500- and 1,000-afghani notes have been altered at left on front and back and are deserving of new type numbers.






Courtesy of Rui Manuel Palhares.

Tags: Afghanistan

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a 100-rupee (US$2) note with R inset letter, dated 2009, with the signature of RBI governor D. Subbarao.

Courtesy of Claudio Marana.

Tags: India

The following 20-, 100-, and 1,000-baht notes were issued in 2009 and feature new signatures of Korn Chatikavanij (Finance Minister) and Tharisa Watthanakase (Governor).









Courtesy of Lars Kersten.

Tags: Thailand

This 50-baht (US$1.45) specimen with commemorative overprint was issued on 1 November 2004 to commemorate the inauguration of the Note Printing Works. The banknote comes in a blue folder. This note exists only as a specimen; there is no regular issue with this overprint (shown below broken into two lines for legibility), which reads in English “In commemoration of the inauguration of the Banknotes Management Department of the bank of Thailand, 1 November 2004 (B.E. 2547)”:



Courtesy of Rafal Nogowczyk.

Tags: Thailand

10,000 riels (US$2.40), 2005. Like Pick 56, but new date.

Courtesy of Rafal Nogowczyk and Wally Myers.

Tags: Cambodia

5 rupees (US$0.10), 2009. Like Pick 88A, but with date at lower center on back (previous issues were undated), new signatures, windowed security thread with demetalized text, and inset letter E.

Anyone interested in buying this note can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw it mentioned here on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of banknoteshop@gmx.net.

Tags: India

100,000 rupiah (US$9.75), 2004/2008. Like Pick 146, but new date.

Does anyone have this note with the date 2004/2006? If so, please send scans so that I can share them.

Anyone interested in buying this note can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw it mentioned here on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of banknoteshop@gmx.net.

Tags: Indonesia

100-tögrög (US$0.05)
Like Pick 65, but new date (2008) and new signature.

Courtesy of Michael E. Knabe.

Tags: Mongolia

On 23 June 2009, the Bank of Korea issued its first-ever 50,000-won note, now the highest denomination in the country.


50,000 won (US$38.85)
Yellow and green. Front: Tree branches, grape leaf, berries, and eggplant; painter and author Shin Saim-dang. Back (vertical): Bamboo tree and Japanese apricot tree. Holographic stripe with demetalized BANK OF KOREA 50000. Windowed Motion security thread. Solid security thread with demetalized 한국은행 50000. Watermark: Shin Saim-dang and electrotype 5 within pentagon. Printer: 한국조폐공사 제조 (Korea Minting & Security Printing Corporation). 154 x 68 mm.

Courtesy of Sejin Ahn.

Tags: South Korea

According to a Business Standard article dated 3 June 2009, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is considering a pilot project to introduce polymer notes in an effort to increase the longevity of its banknotes, said H R Khan, executive director, RBI. The timing of the project has not yet been announced.

Tags: India, Polymer

The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) has issued a new updated 5-rupee note.

Courtesy of Roman Boroznjak.

Tags: Nepal

This 5-tögrög note is like the undated Pick 53, but it has the date (2008) printed on the back, plus the text and signature on front has changed.

Courtesy of Sejin Ahn.

Tags: Mongolia

On 15 May 2009, State Bank of Pakistan issued all denominations with the signature of the new governor, Syed Saleem Raza, who assumed the post on 2 January 2009. These banknotes are the same color, design, and size as the preceding notes.

Tags: Pakistan

Bangladesh Bank has issued a 50-taka note (US$0.75) like Pick 41, but dated 2008 and signed by Governor Salehuddin Ahmed.

On 3 May 2009, Dr. Atiur Rahman was appointed the 10th governor of Bangladesh Bank, so we can expect new signature varieties to appear soon bearing his signature.

Courtesy of Mohammed J. Islam.

Tags: Bangladesh

100 rupees (US$1.25), 2008. Like Pick 48, but new date.

Courtesy of Sejin Ahn.

Tags: Pakistan

1,000 rupees (US$12.45), 2008. Like Pick 50, but new date.
Dark blue. Mohammad Ali Jinnah as portrait and wmk, signature (Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Governor), OVI flag, microlettering, windowed security thread, and denomination as latent image, registration device, and electrotype wmk. Islamia College in Peshawar on back. Printer: Security Printing Corporation. 155 x 65 mm.

Courtesy of Sejin Ahn.

Tags: Pakistan

1,000 kip (US$0.10)
Green and blue. Front: Three young women; temple; coat of arms. Back: Dancer; elephant; grazing cattle; power lines. Solid security thread. Watermark: Unknown. Printer: Bank of the Lao PDR (w/o imprint). 2008. No signature. Introduced 30.10.2008.

Download bank press release (in Lao). Translation requested.


This note is also available as a specimen with horizontal red Lao overprint.

Courtesy of Claudio Marana, Thomas Augustsson, and Leszek Porowski.

Tags: Laos

20 rupees (US$0.25), ND (2009). With the issuance of this note, the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) continues to remove King Gyanendra’s name, image, and royal symbols from the country’s currency.

Courtesy of Roman Boroznjak.

Tags: Nepal

This 1-tögrög note is like the undated Pick 52, but it has the date (2008) printed on the back, plus the text and signature on front has changed.

Courtesy of Sejin Ahn.

Tags: Mongolia

Anil R. Bohora and Gylfi K. Snorrason have just published a new catalog called Banknotes of Bhutan (ISBN 978-81-7525-881-5). This 137-page softcover book is beautifully illustrated in full color throughout, with large front and back images of all notes, and details of vignettes that are thoroughly explained. The book contains everything there is to know about the kings, monuments, and auspicious symbols that appear on Bhutanese notes, as well as the signatories, watermarks, and printers.

I highly recommend Banknotes of Bhutan to anyone interested in this Asian country’s numismatic history. The book costs US$25 + $6 S&H and can be purchased by emailing enterandbuy@yahoo.com.

Tags: Bhutan

The Reserve Bank of India will soon introduce revised banknotes in the denominations of 5, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 rupees. The notes will be identical to the current Mahatma Gandhi series, but will bear the signature of the new bank governor, Dr. D. Subbarao. Notes of the current series will remain legal tender.

Tags: India

According to an article in My Iris dated March 31, 2009, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will shortly issue 1,000-rupee (US$19.85) notes without an inset letter. The notes are part of the Mahatma Gandhi series of 2005. They will bear the signature of RBI governor D. Subbarao.

Additional information and images requested.

Tags: India

This 1,000-tögrög note is like Pick 67, but new date (2007) and new signature of governor A. Batsukh (2006~January 2009).

10-, 20-, and 500-tögrög notes have also been confirmed with this date and signature. Images of the other denominations with this date are requested, as are images of varieties with the signature of the new governor, L. Purevdorj, which are expected eventually.

Courtesy of Sejin Ahn.

Tags: Mongolia

On 21 September 2006, Bangladesh Bank issued a smaller version of the 10-taka note (123 x 60 mm versus 130 x 60 mm). This smaller note has been issued dated 2006, 2007, and 2008, all with the signature of Governor Salehuddin Ahmed.

In late 2008, a revised 2008 10-taka note appeared in circulation. Whereas the previous three small-size 10-taka notes have the national emblem and text intaglio printed, the new note is entirely offset printed, as was the case for this denomination before September 2006. The easiest way to distinguish between the two 2008-dated notes is to compare the text on the front. The earlier note has brown text directly on the underprinting (see top set of scans below) whereas the newer note has the text surrounded by a white background (see bottom set of scans below). The backs appear to be identical.







Courtesy of Sejin Ahn.

Tags: Bangladesh

As previously reported, on 27 January 2007, the Bangladesh Bank issued a 2-taka note (US$0.03) dated 2007. This note is like Pick 6C, but has the new date on back, a new signature (Siddique ur Rehman Chaudhry, Finance Secretary), and a windowed security thread on back (see first image below).

However, a new variety also dated 2007 has been reported, but this one appears to be printed on the same paper previously used on this denomination through the year 2004. This note contains a solid embedded security thread, not a windowed thread (see second image below). Please note that the differences in the colors of these images is most likely a result of the notes being scanned with different computer equipment and is not a reflection of a change in the color schemes of the notes themselves.

A new 2008 dated note has also been reported with the signature of Mohammed Tarek, and it too uses a solid security thread (see bottom set of images below).







Courtesy of Mohammed J. Islam, Ronny Hicks, and Sejin Ahn.

Tags: Bangladesh

A new 100-baht note (US$2.80) has been reported with the signature of สุชาติ ธาดาธำรงเวช (Suchat Thadathamrongwet), who served from September 24 to December 19, 2008. Given his very short term in office, Suchat’s notes may be extremely hard to find in the future. Only this denomination has been reported with this signature combination (the signature of the governor remains that of ธาริษา วัฒนเกส, Tharisa Watthanakase), who has served since November 8, 2006.

Collectors can expect to see new varieties with the signature of the new minister of finance, กรณ์ จาติกวณิช (Korn Chatikavanij), who took over from Suchat on December 20, 2008.

Courtesy of Sejin Ahn.

Tags: Thailand

1,000 rupees (US$19.35), 2008. Like P94, but new date.

Anyone interested in buying this note can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw it mentioned here on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of Ömer Yalcinkaya.

Tags: India

50 rupees (US$0.95)
Like Pick 97, but new date (2008) and new signature (Dr. Y. V. Reddy, Governor),

Anyone interested in buying this note can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw it mentioned here on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of banknoteshop@gmx.net.

Tags: India

500 rupees (US$9.65), 2008. Like P93, but new date, new signature (Dr. Y. V. Reddy, Governor), and L inset letter.

Anyone interested in buying this note can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw it mentioned here on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of Ömer Yalcinkaya.

Tags: India

10 rupees (US$0.20)
Like Pick 95, but new date (2008) and new signature (Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor since 06.09.2008).

Courtesy of Dr Manjunath P. Iyer.

Tags: India

Like Pick 46a (topmost image), but new date (2006) and dark background banner beneath denomination on bottom right and left front does not extend to note’s edge.

Courtesy of Don Cleveland.

Tags: North Korea

500 tögrög (US$0.35), 2007. Like Pick 66, but new date and signature.

Courtesy of Don Cleveland.

Tags: Mongolia

On January 19, 2009, every citizen of Taiwan regardless of age received the sum of NT$3,600 in the form of vouchers denominated in NT$200 (U$5.87) and NT$500 (US$14.69).





Each voucher measures 130 x 55 millimeters and has intaglio printing, latent image at bottom left, and OVI denomination at top left. The watermark is of a mum flower repeated throughout the paper.

The back of each note contains a form that retailers are supposed to fill out and stamp when the vouchers are used in their shops. Once redeemed, the retailers can deposit the vouchers for their face value at business banks.

On the front of the vouchers is the Chinese text that translates as “Valid until Ming Guo 98 (2009) September 30" at left, "Republic of China - Economy Stimulating Shopping Vouchers" at top center, "No change shall be given for purchase of goods using this voucher and cannot be redeemed for legal tender cash" at right "National Government, Two Hundred Yuan" at bottom.

These vouchers can be used at any store that accepts them. Despite their face value; many merchants, to encourage their use, have generally allowed them to be redeemed for merchandise significantly higher than their nominal value - it is common to see "Use your $3,600 [shopping vouchers] here and take home NT$36,000 worth of goods!" (that is, 10 times their value) on many shops, especially electronics and supermarkets.

Courtesy of Jim “Rubycored” Chen.

Tags: Taiwan

I am working on a new catalog of world notes and I need all the help I can get. If you have any of the notes listed below, please email 300-dpi, 100% actual size, 24-bit color scans of the front and back of these notes, saved as uncompressed JPEG, BMP, or TIFF. Please download and follow these detailed scanning instructions.

I am looking for 300-dpi images of the following banknotes of Mongolia:

Pick A1-A4
Pick A8
Pick A10
Pick 16-19

As a contributor, you will receive the satisfaction of taking part in creating something of excellence, your note will be immortalized as the plate note for the catalog, plus your name will appear in the Acknowledgements along with your email address or URL, if you wish.

Thanks in advance for everyone's cooperation!

Tags: Mongolia

At a speech delivered on 2 January 2009, Ajith Nivard Cabraal, the governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, said the bank will release new notes in 2010. The new notes will depict development and prosperity on the fronts and dances of Sri Lanka on the backs.

Tags: Sri Lanka

According to a Macau Daily Times article dated January 6, 2009, “The Bank of China has been authorised to issue new Pataca notes with denominations of 1000, 500, 100, 50, 20, and 10 patacas. The Bank of China held a ceremony to commemorate the issuance of the new Pataca notes yesterday morning…The new issuance adopted Macau cultural heritage of a mixture of the East and the West as the main theme, and received a good response from the citizens.…The new notes carried artistic designs and anti-counterfeiting measures were added. The new notes would be circulated together with the old versions without any inconvenience caused.”

“The new Pataca notes issued by the Bank of China features UNESCO cultural heritage of Macau, which fully displays the flair of hybrid architectural designs of the East and the West. The verso of all notes will have image of the Macau Banking of China Building, with the four bridges of Macau in the background, who aimed to symbolise the “bridging” function of Macau in communication of cultures and its economic development. The new Bank of China Pataca notes will be released for circulation starting today until the Chinese New Year, while the old notes will continue to be the legal tender in Macau.”

If anyone can positively identify the bridges that appear on the back of the notes, please let me know so that I can share this information.


10 pataca (US$1.25)
Red. Front: Lotus flower; TEMPLO DE A-MÁ (temple of A-Ma) building. Back: Bridge; Banco da China in Macau headquarters building. Solid security thread with demetalized 10. Windowed security thread with demetalized BANK OF CHINA and bank logo. Watermark: Lotus flower with electrotype 10. Printer: Unknown. 139 x 69 mm. 8 DE AGOSTO DE 2008 (08.08.2008). Signature unknown. Introduced 05.01.2009.



20 pataca (US$2.50)
Purple. Front: Lotus flower; RUÍNAS DE S. PAULO (ruins of Saint Paul) church building. Back: Bridge; Banco da China in Macau headquarters building. Solid security thread with demetalized 20. Windowed security thread with demetalized BANK OF CHINA and bank logo. Watermark: Lotus flower with electrotype 20. Printer: Unknown. 144 x 72 mm. 8 DE AGOSTO DE 2008 (08.08.2008). Signature unknown. Introduced 05.01.2009.


50 pataca (US$6.25)
Brown. Front: Lotus flower; TEATRO D. PEDRO V (Pedro V theatre) building. Back: Bridge; Banco da China in Macau headquarters building. Solid security thread with demetalized 50. Windowed security thread with demetalized BANK OF CHINA and bank logo. Watermark: Lotus flower with electrotype 50. Printer: Unknown. 149 x 75 mm. 8 DE AGOSTO DE 2008 (08.08.2008). Signature unknown. Introduced 05.01.2009.


100 pataca (US$12.50)
Blue. Front: Lotus flower; FORTALEZA DA GUIA (Guia Fortress) building, chapel, and lighthouse. Back: Sai Van bridge; Banco da China in Macau headquarters building. Solid security thread with demetalized 100. Windowed security thread with demetalized BANK OF CHINA and bank logo. Watermark: Lotus flower with electrotype 100. Printer: Unknown. 153 x 77 mm. 8 DE AGOSTO DE 2008 (08.08.2008). Signature unknown. Introduced 05.01.2009.


500 pataca (US$62.60)
Green. Front: Lotus flower; CASA DO MANDARIM (Mandarin House) building. Back: Bridge; Banco da China in Macau headquarters building. Solid security thread with demetalized 500. Windowed security thread with demetalized BANK OF CHINA and bank logo. Watermark: Lotus flower with electrotype 500. Printer: Unknown. 158 x 80 mm. 8 DE AGOSTO DE 2008 (08.08.2008). Signature unknown. Introduced 05.01.2009.


1,000 pataca (US$125)
Orange. Front: Lotus flower; EDIFICIO DO LEAL SENADO (Loyal Senate) building, now the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) headquarters. Back: Friendship bridge; Banco da China in Macau headquarters building. Solid security thread with demetalized 1000. Windowed security thread with demetalized BANK OF CHINA and bank logo. Watermark: Lotus flower with electrotype 1000. Printer: Unknown. 164 x 82 mm. 8 DE AGOSTO DE 2008 (08.08.2008). Signature unknown. Introduced 05.01.2009.
Courtesy of Frank van Tiel and Dieter und Alfred Eheim.

Tags: Macau

A complete set of North Korean notes with overprints has recently been reported. Unfortunately, little is known about these notes other than that they appear to be the latest issued notes (dates range from 1992 to 2007) with a common overprint in Korean and the Western numerals 95. The literal translation of the overprint is “Great leader Kim Ilsung comrade birth 95th.” Since he was born April 15, 1912, his 95th birthday would have been celebrated in 2007. This seems to fit the latest date on the notes, but does not necessarily mean the notes were issued in 2007. If anyone knows the actual date of introduction, please send me an email so that I can share that information. Also, I’d be interested to learn if these were issued for circulation, or if they were sold only as a numismatic product in special packaging.

Courtesy of Jim Rubycored Chen and Wonsik Kang.

Tags: North Korea

I am working on a new catalog of world notes and I need all the help I can get. If you have any of the notes listed below, please email 300-dpi, 100% actual size, 24-bit color scans of the front and back of these notes, saved as uncompressed JPEG, BMP, or TIFF. Please download and follow these detailed scanning instructions.

I am looking for 300-dpi images of the following banknotes of Malaysia:

P4
P9b “broken security thread”
P12

In addition to front and back scans, please submit the dimensions of the notes in millimeters.

As a contributor, you will receive the satisfaction of taking part in creating something of excellence, your note will be immortalized as the plate note for the catalog, plus your name will appear in the Acknowledgements along with your email address or URL, if you wish.

Thanks in advance for everyone's cooperation!

Tags: Malaysia

Preeyadhorn Dhevakul and Tharisa Wattanaket


Thanon Pithaya and Preeyadhorn Dhevakul


Surapong Suebwonglee and Tharisa Wattanaket

These three notes have recently been reported, but their signature varieties do not appear in the latest SCWPM.

Courtesy of Victor Miguel Gonzalez and Claudio Marana.

Tags: Thailand

50 ngultrum (US$1.15)
Pink, orange, and green. Front: Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. Back: Trongsa Dzong. Solid security thread. Watermark: Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. Printer: (TDLR). 145 x 70 mm. Introduced 06.11.2008.


1,000 ngultrum (US$23.20)
Yellow, gold, and red. Front: Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck with Raven Crown. Back: Tashichho Dzong, the seat of Parliament in the capital of Thimphu. Windowed security thread with demetalized RMA 1000. Watermark: Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. Printer: (G&D). 165 x 70 mm. Introduced 06.11.2008.
Courtesy of Phub Dorji.

Tags: Bhutan

1,000 taka (US$14.60)
Pink. Front: Shahid Minar of the Language Movement. Back: Curzon Hall. Windowed security thread. Watermark: Shapla (lotus blossom) with electrotype bank logo and denomination. Printer: Security Printing Corporation, Bangladesh (w/o imprint). 160 x 70 mm. 2008. Signature Salehuddin Ahmed. Introduced 27.10.2008.

Courtesy of Sazzad Husain.

Tags: Bangladesh

10 rupees (US$0.15)
Brown. Front: Mount Everest. Back: Antelopes. Windowed security thread. Watermark: Rhododendron. TK mm. No date. Signature: acting Governor K. B. Manandhar. Introduced 26.09.2008.



50 rupees (US$0.65)
Blue. Front: Mount Everest. Back: Himalayan Tahr. Windowed security thread. Watermark: Rhododendron. 142 x 70 mm. No date. Signature: acting Governor K. B. Manandhar. Introduced 23.09.2008.



100 rupees (US$1.25)
Green. Front: Mount Everest. Back: Rhinoceros. Windowed security thread. Watermark: Rhododendron. TK mm. No date. Signature: acting Governor K. B. Manandhar. Introduced 29.09.2008.
Courtesy of Roman Boroznjak and Shankar Shrestha.

Tags: Nepal

Like Pick 141, but dated 2000/2008.


Like Pick 143, but dated 2005/2008.


Like Pick 144, but dated 2004/2008.

Courtesy of David Murcek.

Tags: Indonesia

The following note is available as a single note in a booklet for HK$138, in a sheet of four for HK$338, a full sheet of 35 for HK$1,388, paired with an old-style note for HK$268, and a sheet of four paired with old notes for HK$868. The money raised from the sale (after deducting face value and costs) will be donated to charity, with a portion set aside for local sports development. Although the notes will be legal tender in Hong Kong they are not intended to be used in the local economy, and are being sold at a higher cost than their actual value.



20 dollars (US$2.55)
Purple. Front: Bank of China building; Beijing Olympics emblem; ancient column detail. Back: Beijing Olympic Stadium (Bird’s Nest); Chinese lucky clouds; bauhinia flower. Windowed security thread. Watermark: Unknown. Printer: Unknown. 143 x 71.5 mm. 1st JANUARY 2008. Signature: unknown. 4 million notes introduced 16.07.2008.

Courtesy of Kai.

Tags: Hong Kong

100 pesos (US$2.30), 2008. Ten million notes introduced 20.06.2008, to commemorate the centennial of the University of the Philippines. Like P194, but new date, and overprint of the Oblation, an iconic concrete sculpture of a man with face up and arms stretched-wide symbolizing the selfless offering of service to one’s country. 160 x 65 mm.

Tags: Philippines

50 rupees (US$0.70), 2008. Introduced 08.07.2008. Purple. Front: Quaid-e-Azam in national dress (sherwani). Back: Karakoram Peak mountain and coat of arms. Signature (Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Governor), microprinting, solid security thread, denomination as latent image, and registration device. Watermark: Quaid-e-Azam and electrotype denomination. Printer: Pakistan Security Printing Corporation (w/o imprint). 131 x 65 mm.

Tags: Pakistan

5 rupees (US$0.05), 2008. Introduced 08.07.2008. Greenish gray. Front: Quaid-e-Azam in national dress (sherwani). Back: Gawader Sea Port and coat of arms. Signature (Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Governor), microprinting, solid security thread, denomination as latent image, and registration device. Watermark: Quaid-e-Azam with electrotype denomination. Printer: Pakistan Security Printing Corporation (w/o imprint). 115 x 65 mm.

Tags: Pakistan

10 yuan (US$1.45), 2008. The PBOC introduced six million notes on 08.07.2008 to commemorate the Beijing Olympic Games. Cyan. Front: National Stadium (Bird’s Nest), games emblem, Temple of Heaven, and coat of arms. Back: Greek marble statue of discus-thrower, Discobolus; athletes (runners, high jumper, gymnast, soccer players). Watermark: 10 and “Games of XXIX Olympiad” in Chinese. 148.5 x 72 mm. Existing 10-yuan notes to continue circulating.

Tags: China

20,000 riels (US$5.05), 2008. Introduced 12.05.2008, to commemorate the king’s birthday. Violet and purple. Portrait of King Norodom Sihamoni and five-headed dragon on front; aerial view of Angkor Thom and four-faced Buddha in Bayon temple on back. Signatures (Chea Chanto, Governor; Tha Yao, General Cashier), holographic strip with bank logo and 20000, solid security thread with repeating *NBC*, Bayon sculpture as watermark with electrotype denomination, raised bars for partially sighted, embedded colored threads, NATIONALBANKOFCAMBODIA microprinting, intaglio printing, iridescent stripe, and some UV elements. 155 x 72 mm.

Also available as perforated specimen with all-zero serial number. Old 20,000-riel notes to remain legal tender.

Tags: Cambodia

1,000 rupiah (US$0.10), 2000/2007. Like P141, but new date.


5,000 rupiah (US$0.55), 2001/2008. Like P142, but new date.


50,000 rupiah (US$5.50), 2005/2007. Like P139, but new date.

Courtesy of banknoteshop@gmx.net.

Tags: Indonesia

5,000 rupees (US$79.15), 2007. Like Rs5,000 dated 2006, but new date.

Courtesy of Wally Myers.

Tags: Pakistan

With the issuance of the note below, the Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) continues to remove King Gyanendra’s name, image, and royal symbols from the country’s currency. Like the new Rs500 issued September 27, 2007, the new Rs1,000 still has the king’s portrait as watermark because the paper was ordered from an Indonesian manufacturer before April 2006 when the monarchy fell out of favor. The new Rs1,000 had an initial print run of 30 million notes, with prefixes from KHA-21 to KHA-50 (replacement prefixes are KHA-51, -52, and -53).


1,000 rupees (US$15.65), ND (2008). Issued April 7, 2008. Mount Everest, rhododendron over watermark of King Gyanendra. Rhododendron and elephant on back. New signature (Krishna Bahadur Manandhar, Acting Governor), wide windowed security thread, NRB as registration device, and intaglio printing. Printer: Perum Purari, Indonesia (without imprint).

Courtesy of Shyam Agrawal.

Tags: Nepal

Responding to the public outcry over the similar colors of the 20-rupee banknote (P45) issued on 13 August 2005, and the 5,000-rupee note issued on 27 May 2006, the State Bank of Pakistan today issued a revised Rs20 note which is identical to the previous issue, except the colors have been revised to facilitate distinguishing it from all other denominations in the new series. The previous brown Rs20 remains legal tender.

20 rupee (US$0.30), 2007. Issued 22 March 2008. Orange, green, and yellow. Mohammad Ali Jinnah as portrait and watermark with electrotype denomination, signature (Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Governor), microlettering, security thread fluoresces blue under UV light, and denomination as latent image and registration device. Mohen-Jo-Daro in Larkana on back. Printer: Security Printing Corporation. 123 x 65 mm.

Courtesy of Muhammad Rizwan.

Tags: Pakistan

According to a March 8, 2008, article in Macau Daily Times, the Macau branch of the Bank of China (BOC) is set to issue four million 20-pataca (US$2.50) banknotes in commemoration of the 29th Olympic Games that will be held in Beijing during August 2008.

A spokesman of the executive council, Mr. Tong Chi Kin, said the note will be the same purple color as the currently circulating 20-pacata note (Pick 103). The front of the new note will feature the Bank of China building, the architecture representing the location of the torch relay of the ancient Olympic Games, as well as the emblem of the Beijing Olympic Games, and a vertical line that reads "In Commemoration of the 29th Olympic Games" in both Chinese and Portuguese. The back of the note will depict the Beijing Olympic Stadium (also known as the "Bird's Nest"), and Macau's Golden Lotus symbol.



20 pataca (US$2.50)
Purple. Front: Bank of China building; Beijing Olympics emblem; ancient column detail. Back: Beijing Olympic Stadium (Bird’s Nest); Golden Lotus symbol. Windowed security thread. Watermark: Unknown. Printer: Unknown. 143 x 71.5 mm. 3 DE MAIO DE 2008 (03.05.2008). Signature unknown.

Courtesy of Kai.

Tags: Macau

10 dollars (US$7.10), ND (2007). Issued February 1, 2008. Like P48, but new signature (Goh Chok Tong, CHAIRMAN). Polymer.

Courtesy of Thomas Krause.

Tags: Singapore, Polymer

10 dollars (US$1.30), 1st OCTOBER 2007. Like the HKD10 issued July 9, 2007, but new date and new signatures (John Tsang Chun-wah, FINANCIAL SECRETARY; Joseph Yam Chi-kwong, MONETARY AUTHORITY). Polymer. 133 x 66 mm.

Courtesy of Thomas Krause.

Tags: Hong Kong, Polymer

100 rupees (US$2.50), 2007. Like P91, but new date, new signature (Dr. Y. V. Reddy, Governor), and E inset letter.

Courtesy of Claudio Marana.

Tags: India

500 rupees (US$12.60), 2007. Like P93, but new date, new signature (Dr. Y. V. Reddy, Governor), and R inset letter.

Additional information and images requested.

Courtesy of Claudio Marana.

Tags: India

500 rupees (US$12.60), 2007. Like P93, but without inset letter and signature of Dr. Y. V. Reddy, governor.


1,000 rupees (US$25.20), 2007. Like P94, but without inset letter and signature of Dr. Y. V. Reddy, governor.

Courtesy of banknoteshop@gmx.net.

Tags: India

1,000 riels (US$0.25), 2007. Like P58, but new date. 138 x 64 mm.

Courtesy of Leszek Porowski.

Tags: Cambodia

According to an 11 December 2007, press release, the Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue Rs.10 denomination banknotes with inset letter "S" in both numbering panels in Mahatma Gandhi Series with additional/new security features bearing the signature of Dr. Y.V. Reddy, Governor. Except for the change in the inset letter, the design of these notes to be issued now is similar in all respects to the banknotes issued earlier in Mahatma Gandhi Series with additional/new security features issued on 27 April 2006. All banknotes in the denomination of Rs.10 issued by the Bank in the past will continue to be legal tender.

No further details are available at this time. If anyone can provide information or images of the new note, please add a comment to this posting.

Tags: India

According to an 8 January 2008 article on China View, "The Cambodian National Bank has issued a new 2,000-riel bank note to refresh currency supplies and simplify cash payments, the Cambodia Daily newspaper said Tuesday. Roughly equivalent to half a U.S. dollar, the new note depicts an image of the Preah Vihear temple on one side and a woman harvesting rice on the other, the newspaper said. The notes replace an equal value of tattered 1,000-riel notes that have been taken out of circulation and destroyed, National Bank of Cambodia Deputy Governor Neav Chanthana said. 'The new note is to replace the older ones,' Neav Chanthana was quoted as saying. The 2,000-riel denomination also requires that only half as many bills be printed as are removed from circulation, thereby saving the usage of paper, she added."

2,000 riels (US$0.50), 2007. Introduced 03.01.2008. Green, black, and yellow. Gate of Preah Vihear temple on front; farmers harvesting rice with palm trees and Angkor Wat temple in background on back. Signatures (Chea Chanto, Governor; Tha Yao, General Cashier), solid security thread with repeating *NBC*, Bayon sculpture as watermark, embedded colored threads, NATIONALBANKOFCAMBODIA microprinting, and some UV elements. 146 x 68 mm. Also available as perforated specimen with all-zero serial number.

Courtesy of Leszek Porowski.

Tags: Cambodia

50 ringgit (US$14.95), 2007. 20,000 special sets issued 26.12.2007 for RM60, and at face without packaging starting January 30, 2008. Green-blue. Portrait of the first king, Tuanku Abdul Rahman ibni Tuanku Muhammad at right, national flower hibiscus at center, songket weaving patterns in background and edges, signature (Tan Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz, GABENOR). Malaysia’s first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj declaring independence, oil palm trees, microbiology technology, and 50th anniversary logo on back (logo will appear only on first 50 million notes). Security features include watermark portrait and 50 as electrotype watermark, fluorescent windowed security thread with repeating BNM RM50 (also as microtext), songket design as registration device, 50 as latent image, holographic stripe with 50 and hibiscus flower.

Courtesy of Hon H. Mak.

Tags: Malaysia

16 baht (US$0.50), ND (2007). 15 million uncut sheets issued November 28, 2007, to commemorate King Rama IX’s 80th birthday. On the 1-baht note the king is giving a speech during his coronation in 1950 at the Sutthaisawan Pratat Hall; on the 5-baht note he’s in a royal procession by land, marking his 3th Circle Birthday Anniversary in 1963; and on the 10-baht note a large crowd is paying tribute during the 60th anniversary celebrations of the king’s accession to the throne in 2006. The back depicts various aspects of the king’s royal biography, activities, and talents. 147 x 229 mm.

Courtesy of Ronny Hick.

Tags: Thailand

5 rufiyaa (US$0.40), 1 July 2006/AH1427. Like P18, but new date, new signature (Qasim Ibrahim, Governor), and “DE LA RUE” imprint removed from back.


10 rufiyaa (US$0.80), 1 July 2006/AH1427. Like P19, but new date, new signature (Qasim Ibrahim, Governor), and “DE LA RUE” imprint removed from back.

Tags: Maldives

According to a November 5, 2007, press release, the Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue Rs.10 denomination banknotes with inset letter "A" in both numbering panels in Mahatma Gandhi Series with additional/new security features bearing the signature of Dr. Y.V. Reddy, Governor. Except for the change in the inset letter, the design of these notes to be issued now is similar in all respects to the banknotes issued earlier in Mahatma Gandhi Series with additional/new security features issued on April 27, 2006. All banknotes in the denomination of Rs.10 issued by the Bank in the past will continue to be legal tender.

No further details are available at this time. If anyone can provide information or images of the new note, please add a comment to this posting.

Tags: India

50 pesos (US$1.15), 2006. Like SCWPM 193, but new date and new signatures (GLORIA MARCAPAGAL-ARROYO, Pangulo ng Pilipinas; AMANDO M. TETANGC0, JR., Tagapangaslwa ng Bangko Sentral).

Courtesy of Menelaos Stamatelos.

Tags: Philippines

20 pesos (US$0.45), 2007. Like SCWPM 182, but new date and new signatures (GLORIA MARCAPAGAL-ARROYO, Pangulo ng Pilipinas; AMANDO M. TETANGC0, JR., Tagapangaslwa ng Bangko Sentral).

Courtesy of Menelaos Stamatelos.

Tags: Philippines

1 ringgit (US$0.70), 2007. Issued 27 September 2007. Like Pick 22, but new date. Polymer. Printer: (NPA).

Courtesy of Banknotes-International.

Tags: Brunei

India’s booming economy has pushed up demand for 500- and 1,000-rupee notes by approximately 20 and 50 percent, respectively, with the volume of almost all other denominations remaining steady. The cost of printing currency has more than doubled to Rs20 trillion during 2006-07, with the business split between Security Printing and Monitoring Corporation of India and Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran.

Tags: India

According to Inquirer.net, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), has spent P4 billion (US$89 million) on two “superline” printing machines so it will not have to outsource the printing of banknotes. Two years ago, a European printer supplied 80 million 100-peso notes on which President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s was misspelled as “Arrovo.” By printing locally, it’s hoped that such embarrassing errors will be a thing of the past. Also, the new printing machines will double the capacity of the Security Plant Complex in Quezon City to two billion notes annually. The new machines perform the entire cycle of banknote production, from layout to printing and bundling.

Tags: Philippines

In addition to the Rs500 (which has an initial print run of 20 million notes), the NRB is preparing to issue new 50- and 100-rupee denominations in mid-2008 that also remove King Gyanendra’s name, image, and royal symbols. The new Rs500 still has the king’s portrait as watermark because the paper was ordered from an Indonesian manufacturer before April 2006 when the monarchy fell out of favor. Because the impoverished Himalayan country could not afford new paper, bank officials chose instead to obscure the king’s image by printing a rhododendron over the watermark.

500 rupees (US$7.85), ND (2007). Issued 27.09.2007. Tan, brown, purple, red, and green. Mount Everest at left, national flower rhododendron at right over wmk of King Gyanendra. Rhododendron at left and two tigers drinking melted snow at center on back. Signature 16, wide windowed security thread, NRB as registration device, intaglio printing. 160 x 70 mm.

Courtesy of Madhur Grover.

Tags: Nepal

On 8 August 2007, Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain asked a National Assembly standing committee to probe and report within a month on why the new 1,000-rupee banknote carries an imprint of the national flag in lilac (like the Turkish flag) rather than green, and why packs of note are now bound with a paper band and not stapled as was the past norm.

The State Bank of Pakistan explained that the Pakistani flag does not appear on any SBP notes (the flag has a white band to the left of the field of green); the crescent and five-pointed star is merely a security feature printed with optical variable ink (OVI) that changes color from magenta to green when the note is tilted. Furthermore, the SBP pointed out that bundling notes is the international standard and the practice of stapling notes has been halted in an effort to increase the longevity of the nation’s notes.

Courtesy of Muhammad Rizwan.

Tags: Pakistan

10 dollars (US$1.30), 1st April 2007. Issued July 2007. Like Pick 400, but new date, new signatures (Henry Tang Ying-yen, FINANCIAL SECRETARY; Joseph Yam Chi-kwong, MONETARY AUTHORITY), larger tactile denomination in corners, see-through window with numeral 10, watermark-like image of bauhinia flower in clear window, watermark-like image of numeral 10, ribbon printed in pink-to-purple OVI, irridescent band with bauhinia flower and HK10 moved to center of note. Rearing horse as registration device, denomination as latent image. Polymer. 133 x 66 mm.

Courtesy of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

Tags: Hong Kong, Polymer

The above note commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Currency Interchangeability Agreement between both Brunei and Singapore. The note is available individually, in uncut sheets of three or 24 notes (200 and 25 sheets produced, respectively), and in a limited edition of 2,000 sets with similar Singapore notes bearing matching serial numbers. 

20 ringgit (US$13.10), 2007. Issued 27 June 2007. Orange. Novel serial numbers, A prefix, see-through window with red crest, and gold OVD with HB as latent image. Portrait of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah at right, Ipomoea Pes-capre (plant that symbolises the treaty) at center. On back: Singapore’s splanade and buildings along the city’s waterfront at left; the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien mosque, Royal Barge, and water village at right. Polymer. 149 x 72 mm.

20 ringgit (US$13.10), 2007. As above, but paired in folder with Singapore note with matching serial number, BND prefix, and 40TH ANNIVERSARY CURRENCY INTERCHANGEABILITY AGREEMENT overprint in brown.

Courtesy of Noorilham MD. Tahir.

Tags: Brunei, Polymer

The above note commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Currency Interchangeability Agreement between both Brunei and Singapore. The Monetary Authority of Singapore will issue a total of 3 million individual notes, and is also selling 10,000 limited edition sets with similar Brunei notes bearing matching serial numbers for S$88. 

20 dollars (US$13.10), 2007. Issued June 27, 2007. Orange. Novel serial numbers, A prefix, two embossed see-through windows, gold lion with latent image of arms, security thread shaped like Singapore isalnd, and red-to-gold OVD. Portrait of Encik Yusof bin Ishak at right, Dendrobium Puan Noor Aishah orchids at center, Ishak wmk at left. On back: Singapore’s splanade and buildings along the city’s waterfront at left; the Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien mosque, Royal Barge, and water village at right. Polymer. 149 x 72 mm.

20 dollars (US$13.10), 2007. As above, but paired in folder with Brunei note with matching serial number, SGD prefix, and 40th Anniversary Currency Interchangeability Agreement overprint in red.

Courtesy of Noorilham MD. Tahir.

Tags: Singapore, Polymer

1,000 ringgit (US$652), 2006. Issued 21 June 2007. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah as portrait and wmk, 10-pointed star as clear window, transparent window embossed HB1K, red crest on gold patch, novel serial numbering, 8-pointed star as registration device. Ministry of Finance building on back. Polymer. Printer: (NPA). 166 x 76 mm.

Courtesy of Noorilham MD. Tahir.

Tags: Brunei, Polymer

On November 20, 2006, The Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan released the first of its new “Series 2006” of redesigned notes. These two new denominations add to the series.

The notes are printed by De La Rue in the UK on cotton paper. There is  intaglio microlettering in the line running horizontally parallel to the name of the issuing authority on the front of the note in Dzongkha and in English on the back.

The new series also has high relief marks to help blind people feel and recognize different denominations, and they feature a double coating of varnish to improve durability and prevent soiling and counterfeiting.


10 ngultrum (US$0.25), 2006. Issued 2007. Front: Jigme Singye Wangchuck; Dungkar (conch), one of eight good luck symbols. Back: Paro Rinpung Dzong. Solid security thread. Watermark: Jigme Singye Wangchuck. Printer: (TDLR). 125 x 65 mm.


100 ngultrum (US$2.45), 2006. Issued 2007. Green. Front: Jigme Singye Wangchuck; Norbu Rimpochhe, one of seven auspicious gems. Back: Tashichho Dzong, dragons in upper corners. Windowed security thread with demetalized RMA 100. Watermark: Jigme Singye Wangchuck. Printer: (TDLR). 145 x 70 mm.

Courtesy of Phub Dorji and Gylfi Snorrason.

Tags: Bhutan

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will issue new $5 polymer notes from 18 May 2007. This is the third denomination in the Portrait Series to be converted from paper into polymer. The $5 polymer notes will circulate alongside the $5 paper notes, both of which will remain legal tender.

As with the $2 and $10 polymer notes, MAS has retained the portrait series design for the $5 polymer notes as it is familiar to the public. The $5 polymer and paper notes have the following similarities:
• Portrait of Singapore’s first President, the late Encik Yusof bin Ishak, on the front, and images of the Garden City theme at the back. • Same colour (predominantly green). • Same size (133 mm x 66 mm).

The $5 polymer notes also include security features unique to polymer technology which are similarly found in $2 and $10 polymer notes. They are:
• Two see-through windows – one on the top-left hand side, and the other at the bottom-right corner. • A stylised gold Singapore Lion symbol with a hidden image, beside the top-left hand window.  An image of the Singapore Arms will appear at varying angles. • The security thread in the shape of the Singapore island.

Tags: Singapore, Polymer

50 dollars (US$6.40), 1 January 2006. Like Pick 208, but new date, new signature, and new title (Executive Director).

Courtesy of Michael Reissner.

Tags: Hong Kong

500 rufiyaa (US$39.05), 1 July 2006. Like P23, but new date, new signature (Qasim Ibrahim, Governor), Cornerstone watermark, 500 as electrotype watermark, windowed 3mm StarChrome security thread changes red to green. Printer: De La Rue.

As of May 10, 2007, all 500-rufiyaa notes issued on or before May 1, 1996 (P17 and 23) ceased being legal tender. The deadline for exchange was November 8, 2007.

Courtesy of Claudio Marana.

Tags: Maldives

50 rupees (US$1.15), 2005. Like Pick 90, but new date, new signature (Dr. Y. V. Reddy, Governor), and with inset letter R.

Courtesy of Menelaos Stamatelos, Southeastern Numismatics.

Tags: India

100 rupees (US$2.25), 2007. Like Pick 91, but new date, new signature (Dr. Y. V. Reddy, Governor), and without inset letter.

Courtesy of Menelaos Stamatelos, Southeastern Numismatics.

Tags: India

100 dollars (US$12.80), 1 January 2006. Like Pick 209, but new date, new signature, and new title (Executive Director).

Courtesy of Michael Reissner.

Tags: Hong Kong

2 taka (US$0.05), 2004. Like Pick 6C, but new date, new signature. Printer: Security Printing Press, Bangladesh. 100 x 60 mm.

Courtesy of Menelaos Stamatelos, Southeastern Numismatics.

Tags: Bangladesh

20 rupees (US$0.20), 2004-07-01. Like Pick 116, but new date and new signature. Printer: De La Rue 130 x 65 mm.
 
Courtesy of Menelaos Stamatelos, Southeastern Numismatics.

Tags: Sri Lanka

Today the Reserve Bank of India announced that it will soon issue a 20 rupee (US$0.45) note with inset letter R within the serial number panels.

Except for the change in the inset letter, the design of these notes to be issued now is similar in all respects to the banknotes issued earlier in Mahatma Gandhi Series with additional/new security features issued on August 17, 2006. All banknotes in the denomination of Rs20 issued by the RBI in the past will continue to be legal tender.

Courtesy of Frank van Tiel.

Tags: India

20 rupees (US$0.25), 2005-11-19. Like Pick 116, but new date and new signature. Printer: Thomas De La Rue and Company Limited.
 
Courtesy of banknoteshop@gmx.net.

Tags: Sri Lanka

1,000 rupees (US$16.50), 2006. Issued 26 February 2007. Dark blue. Mohammad Ali Jinnah as portrait and wmk, signature (Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Governor), OVI flag, microlettering, windowed security thread, and denomination as latent image, registration device, and electrotype wmk. Islamia College in Peshawar on back. Printer: Security Printing Corporation. 155 x 65 mm.

Courtesy of Muhammad Rizwan.

Tags: Pakistan

India has released Rs10, Rs20, Rs100, and Rs500 denominations dated 2006 at bottom center on back, and without an inset letter within the serial number in the upper right on front.

Anyone interested in buying this note can contact the contributor by clicking the link below. Be sure to say you saw it mentioned here on Banknotenews.com.

Courtesy of Chris Twining and Ömer Yalcinkaya.

Tags: India

On 27 January 2007, the Bangladesh Bank issued a 2 taka (US$0.03), 2007. Like Pick 6C, but new date, new signature (Siddique ur Rehman Chaudhry, Finance Secretary), and windowed security thread. Shaheed Minar on front, magpie robin (Doyal) on back. Tiger head and bank logo as wkm. Printer: Security Printing Press, Bangladesh. 100 x 60 mm.

Courtesy of Mohammed J. Islam and Ronny Hicks.

Tags: Bangladesh

The Bank of Korea (BOK) issued newly-designed 1,000- and 10,000-won notes with strengthened anti-forgery features (including watermarks shown above) on January 22, 2007. For more information, visit the BOK’s web site dedicated to the new family of notes.

Courtesy of banknoteshop@gmx.net.

Tags: South Korea

Claudio Marana reports that Pakistan’s 20-rupee note originally issued on 13 August 2005 with a printed date of 2005 (above) is now also available in a 2006 date variety.

The note remains reddish/brown, orange, and lilac with Quaid-e-Azam as portrait and wmk. Latent image 20 at right of portrait. Microtext embedded security thread, and anti-scan infra red ink feature. Mohen-Jo-Daro complex at Larkana on back. 123 x 65 mm.

Tags: Pakistan

Pakistan’s Federal Cabinet has asked the State Bank of Pakistan to prepare a new 5-rupee note (US$0.08) for introduction to replace the old Rs5 (Pick 44, above) that was withdrawn from circulation on 1 July 2005.

Tags: Pakistan

Despite previously announcing its intention to eventually convert all its bank note denominations to polymer, the State Bank of Vietnam recently announced it would issue low-denomination cotton notes in the face of strong public opposition to the usage of coins. There is no word yet on exactly what new denominations will be released, nor when.

Tags: Vietnam

On 10 January 2007, the subcommittee of the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee directed the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to change the colors and designs of the new family of banknotes, especially the Rs20 and Rs5,000 denominations.

“The identical colours, designs, and sizes [sic] of new currency notes, especially those of Rs20 and Rs5,000 denominations, are very deceptive and are creating problems for the people. The SBP should consider changing the colours and designs of these notes,” said Riaz Fatiana, chairman of the subcommittee.

SBP’s roll out of the new family of notes began in August 2005 with the Rs20 and is expected to be completed in 2007 with the introduction of the Rs50 and Rs1,000. The new family of notes all feature the portrait of Quaid-e-Azam in Sherwani on the front, with different structures on the back. All of the notes are 65 mm tall, but their length graduates by 8 mm per denomination, from 115 mm for the Rs10 up to 163 mm for the Rs5,000.

Tags: Pakistan

500 ringgit (US$325), 2006. Issued 28 December 2006. Orange. Pink and gold flower as clear window, transparent window embossed HB500, al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien as portrait and wmk, misai kucing (java tea) flowers at center, red crest on gold patch of 16 petals, novel serial numbering, leaves as registration device. Bandar Seri Begawan mosque and lagoon on back. Polymer. Printer: (NPA). 168 x 80 mm.


10,000 ringgit ($6,500), 2006. Issued 28 December 2006. Green and brown. Green and magenta 10-pointed star as clear window, transparent window embossed 10K, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah as portrait and wmk, red crest on gold patch, novel serial numbering, 8-pointed star as registration device. Parliament on back. Polymer. Printer: (NPA).

Courtesy of Stane Straus.

Tags: Brunei, Polymer

On November 20, 2006, The Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan released its new “Series 2006” of redesigned notes.

The notes are printed by De La Rue in the UK on cotton paper. There is  intaglio microlettering in the line running horizontally parallel to the name of the issuing authority on the front of the note in Dzongkha and in English on the back.

The new series also has high relief marks to help blind people feel and recognize different denominations, and they feature a double coating of varnish to improve durability and prevent soiling and counterfeiting.


P27: 1 ngultrum (US$0.02), 2006. Issued November 20, 2006. Blue, red, and green. Front: Dragons. Back: Simtokha Dzong. No security thread. Watermark: None. Printer: (TDLR). 120 x 60 mm.


P28: 5 ngultrum (US$0.11), 2006. Issued November 20, 2006. Yellow, brown, and red. Front: Birds and embossed cloverleaf. Back: Taktsang. Solid security thread. Watermark: None. Printer: (TDLR). 125 x 60 mm.


P30: 20 ngultrum (US$0.45), 2006. Issued November 20, 2006. Yellow and green. Front: Jigme Singye Wangchuck. Back: Punakha Dzong. Solid security thread. Watermark: Jigme Singye Wangchuck. Printer: (TDLR). 130 x 65 mm.


P33: 500 ngultrum ($11.35), 2006. Issued November 20, 2006. Pink, orange, and green. Front: King Ugyen Wangchuck with Raven Crown. Back: Punakha Dzong. Windowed security thread with demetalized RMA 100. Watermark: King Jigme Singye Wangchuk. Printer: (TDLR). 155 x 70 mm.

Courtesy of Phub Dorji and Gylfi Snorrason.

Tags: Bhutan

The Governor, State Bank of Pakistan, Dr. Shamshad Akhtar launched Rs. 100 and Rs. 500 new design bank notes at a ceremony held today at SBP Head Office, Karachi. The launch of these notes is part of a campaign to eliminate counterfeiting of notes in the country.

The State Bank has taken advantage of the latest technology to make these notes virtually impossible to be forged by incorporating the state-of-the-art security features that are easy to recognize but almost impossible to counterfeit.

Some of the special security features added in the new design banknotes are anti-copy and anti-scan, microlettering, a latent image of the denomination which can be seen when the note is tilted, a windowed security thread that changes colors when seen against the light, and a registration device.

The launch of these high-tech notes is also expected to revolutionize the banking business in Pakistan as these notes are equipped with machine-readable features. This will facilitate automation of handling of notes by banks and use of equipment to detect counterfeiting while processing the notes. Due to presence of special features in these notes, ATMs that can receive as well as dispense cash can now be introduced in Pakistan.

The old design Rs.100 (Pick 41) and Rs.500 (Pick 42) will remain in circulation as legal tender along with the new design notes.

With this launch, the State Bank has already introduced new design notes of Rs. 10, 20, 100, 500, and 5,000 denominations. The State Bank plans to complete its current design upgrading campaign of notes when new designs of the remaining denominations of Rs. 50 and Rs. 1,000 are introduced early in 2007.


100 rupees (US$1.65), 2006. Issued 10 November 2006. Red, violet, and tan. Microlettering, windowed security thread, and denomination as latent image and registration device. Signature: Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Governor. Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Quaid-e-Azam residency in Ziarat on back. Printer: Security Printing Corporation.


500 rupees (US$8.25), 2006. Issued 10 November 2006. Teal, blue, and olive green. Microlettering, windowed security thread, and denomination as latent image and registration device. Signature: Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Governor. Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Badshahi Mosque in Lahore on back. Printer: Security Printing Corporation.

Courtesy of Cleophas Elmakias Schockemohle. Thanks also to Muhammad Rizwan for informing me that both of these notes are also available as specimens with all-zero serial numbers and the word “SPECIMEN” punched into the note in large letters.

Tags: Pakistan

The Bank of Korea (BOK) announced that newly-designed 1,000- and 10,000-won notes with strengthened anti-forgery features will begin circulating on January 22, 2007. For more information, read this The Korea Times article and this one.

The Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation has been delivering the new W1,000 notes to the BOK since May 19, 2006, and began printing the new W10,000 banknotes on July 7, 2006.

Update (12/22/06): Lawmakers were poised to approve the introduction of larger denominations as early as 2008.

Tags: South Korea

20 rupees (US$0.30), ND (2006). Issued October 20, 2006. Like Pick 47, but text at center in different location and slightly reworded, plus signature 16 (Bijay Nath Bhattarai, Governor).

Courtesy of Sagar Man Shrestha.

Tags: Nepal

500 rupees, 2005-11-19. Issued 17.10.2006. Like Pick 119, but new signatures (Mahinda Rajapaksa, Minister of Finance; Mr Sunil Mendis, Governor), “H/112” prefix, and new security features including red-to-green 3-mm StarChrome windowed security thread with butterflies, and Cornerstone wmk.

Tags: Sri Lanka

2,000 rupees, 2005-11-02. Issued 17.10.2006. Peach, orange, and lime green on m/c unpt. Signatures: Dr Sarath L B Amunugama, Minister of Finance; Mr Sunil Mendis, Governor. Denomination in Sinhala, Tamil, and English. Security features include red-to-green 4-mm StarChrome windowed security thread, heraldic lion with sword wmk, Cornerstone wmk, registration device, fluorescent ink, microlettering, and intaglio printing. Sigiriya Rock at center, Sesatha (ceremonial flag) at right. Sigiriya fresco and iridescent stripe on back (vertical format). Printer: De La Rue (with imprint). 164 x 82 mm. First ever Rs2,000 (US$18.70) denomination note for Sri Lanka.

Tags: Sri Lanka

Pick 46: 5 taka, 2006. New date. Issued October 8, 2006. Like Pick 25, but reduced size (118 x 62 mm), new signature (Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed, Governor), and 3-mm windowed security thread.

The 5-taka note was discontinued some years ago and has now been re-introduced, reportedly as a temporary emergency issue printed on 100-taka paper due to lack of coinage.

Courtesy of Morris Lawing (deceased).

Tags: Bangladesh

20,000 tögrög (US$17.10).
Light green and yellow. Front: Chinggis Khaan; holographic Soyombo symbol; warrior on horseback. Back: State Nine White Banners. 3-mm windowed security thread with demetalized MONGOLBANK. Watermark: Chinggis Khaan and electrotype МБ. Printer: G&D (w/o imprint). 152 x 72 mm. 2006. Signature Unknown. Introduced 02.10.2006.
 
More details can be found in this UB Post article.

Tags: Mongolia

Pick 47: 10 taka, 2006. New date. Issued 21.09.2006. Like Pick 39, but reduced size (123 x 60 mm versus 130 x 60 mm), new signature (Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed, Governor), and signature in blue instead of red.

Courtesy of Morris Lawing (deceased).

Tags: Bangladesh

50 rupees (US$0.70), ND (2006). Issued September 8, 2006, to celebrate the Nepal Rastra Bank Golden Jubilee Year 2005. Yellow, red, and green. Signature: Bijay Nath Bhattarai, Governor. Serial number prefix: KHA/ 97 to GA/17 (20 million pieces). Registration device. Windowed security thread. King Gyanendra dressed in Daura Suruwal (national dress) as portrait and wmk, Nepal Rastra Bank building at left, Mt. Machhapuchhre (Fishtail) at center, Ashok Stambha (Lumbini) at right. Pair of danphe (national bird) and Mt. Amadablam at center, NRB logo at top left, arms at right on back.

Courtesy of Jaya Hari Jha.

Tags: Nepal

According to a 15 August 2006, article in The Manila Times, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will cease outsourcing the printing of bank notes in 2007 in the wake of an embarrassing mistake made public last November.

In an attempt to ensure a sufficient supply of 100-piso (US$1.95) bank notes during the 2005 Christmas season, last year the BSP contracted the services of an unnamed French security printer. The move was supposed to be economical, too, since the French printer’s cost of production was reportedly half that of the BSP.

Unfortunately, the outsourced 100-piso notes (Pick 194c) delivered to the BSP bore President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s surname misspelled as “Arrovo.” Approximately 1,000 of these error notes were released into circulation before the mistake was caught. They remain legal tender in the Philippines, but are valued at US$20 in uncirculated condition, according to the 12th edition of the SCWPM.

Said an unnamed source, “It’s both the printer and BSP’s fault, because BSP sent its staff abroad who handles outsourcing of bank notes. However, the French printer shoulders the printing cost.”
 
A new story in the Manila Standard Today reports that 2.14 million error notes were released, and that the printer in question is Francois Charles Oberthur Fiduciare. Oberthur has reportedly agreed to shoulder the cost of a quarter of the initial print run of 77.9 million notes and will replace three quarters of that amount.

Tags: Philippines

On August 15, 2006, the State Bank of Vietnam announced it would issue two new polymer notes. The 200,000-dong note is the first of that denomination in the nation’s history. The current paper 10,000-dong note (Pick 115) remains legal tender; all smaller bank notes are being replaced by coins. SBV has announced that it will eventually convert all its denominations to polymer.


10,000 dongs, (20)06. Issued August 30, 2006. Purple, light green, and light blue. President Ho Chi Minh. “Treehouse” wmk, curved security thread, registration device, microprinting, and “VN” latent image. Off-shore oil rigs on back. Polymer. 132 x 60 mm.


200,000 dongs, (20)06. Issued August 30, 2006. Red, green, and peach. President Ho Chi Minh as portrait and wkm. Curved security thread, registration device, OVI, and microprinting. Junk in Ha Long Bay on back. Polymer. 148 x 65 mm.

Tags: Vietnam, Polymer

Pick 49: 100 taka, 2006. Issued 16.07.2006. Light blue, dark blue, and brown. Like Pick 44, but reduced size and security thread now 3 mm wide. National Mausoleum and Sixty-dome Mosque in Bagerhat. Signature: Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed, Governor. Bengal tiger and bank symbol of as wmk. Banganabdhu Multipurpose bridge on back. 140 x 62 mm.
 
Courtesy of Peter Symes.

Tags: Bangladesh

5,000 rupees, 2006. Issued 27 May 2006. Mustard. Signature: Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Governor. Quaid-e-Azam in Sherwani as portrait and wmk. Faisal Mosque in Islamabad on back. Contains 13 security features, including silver windowed thread that fluoresces yellow and blue under UV light. Flag at right of portrait in green to golden OVI. 163 x 65 mm.
 
Courtesy of R. K. Lodha.

Tags: Pakistan

100 rupees (US$1.40), ND (2006). Like Pick 49. Signature 16. Slight change to three lines of text at center, and new font for serial numbers.
 
Courtesy of Jaya Hari Jha.

Tags: Nepal