The Reserve Bank of Fiji has issued a new banknote and a 50-cent coin celebrating the country’s gold medal win at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics in the men’s Rugby Sevens – the country’s first ever Olympic medal.

By the time the Fijian team had made it to the Olympic final in August last year, the island country was in a state of euphoria. The significance of their team being in the final was unprecedented. During the match, businesses closed and children were taken out of schools so that they could watch the game. The country came to a standstill. When the final whistle came, the island erupted with excitement, triumph and pride. Their team had made history.

The pride that the Olympic gold medal brought to Fiji, placing the country firmly on the world map, led the Reserve Bank to decide to issue a commemorative $7 banknote and 50-cent coin.

Designing the banknote

On the 26 August, the Bank sent tender invitations with just three weeks to closure and, during September, Oberthur Fiduciaire was selected to produce the historic banknote.

With a target of just eight months in which to deliver two million commemorative banknotes, Oberthur Fiduciaire’s Senior Designer Antony Duckels immediately began working on designs having been given a brief to capture the excitement of the event and show off the victorious team. By 11 November, digital designs had been finalised and proof productions on banknote paper began.

By January, the proof banknote had been created and the designs, colours, security features and substrate selection were approved. Just three months later, the Reserve Bank issued the banknote, featuring a variety of design elements associated with the Rugby Seven’s Olympic team including an image of Olympic Captain Osea Kolinisau, Coach Ben Ryan, the Fijian coat of arms and the Fijian flag, on a note coloured predominantly blue consistent with the country’s flag.

Security and Print Features

The banknote contains a variety of security features, all linked to the Fijian rugby team such as the see-through feature based on a design used on the team’s jersey. The vibrant images included in the note’s design are achieved using ten colour wet offset and five colour intaglio.

Oberthur’s colourshifting STARsheen® security thread is used, including intricate cleartext images depicting rugby posts, a rugby ball and text. Other features from Oberthur include Complex®, an anti-scan feature consisting of line structure patterns designed to produce disruptive patterns when photocopied, and the Avalon® UV feature which changes its fluorescent colour when gently rubbed – the first banknote in the world to include the feature. Securicoat® Ultra matt and glossy varnishes with oleophobic and hydrophobic properties are also applied.

Designing the coin

During May 2016, the Reserve Bank of Fiji set aside one million 50-cent coin blanks to be struck as painted coins, commemorating Fiji’s attendance at the Olympics. Following their win in August, the Bank immediately shortlisted several images to be used for the coin’s design before sending them to the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM), whose relationship with the Reserve Bank began in 1990.

By January 2017, sample coins bearing the chosen designs were approved. The front of the coin features the word ‘FIJI’ and the issuing year ‘2017’ with the denomination ‘50 cents’ and a representation of the Fijian Coat of Arms. The main image is that of Fiji Rugby 7s Olympic Coach, Ben Ryan CF, sitting on the Sigatoka Sand Dunes with arms folded, the ocean as the backdrop and the words ‘BEN RYAN SEVENS HEAD COACH’ inscribed around the coin in a semi-circle. The image included on the reverse of the coin is that of the Fijian rugby team’s huddle before kickoff, with the words “FIJI RUGBY 7s” overhead and “GOLD OLYMPIANS” underneath.

The RCM’s high-speed production facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba, immediately set to work and delivered the order to the Reserve Bank in March, in time to issue with the $7 banknote in April.

Celebrating a National Event

When celebrating a recent national event, it is essential that associated memorabilia is provided promptly. This produces several challenges for the Central Bank and banknote printer or coin mint, as experienced by the Reserve Bank of Fiji, Oberthur Fudiciare and the Royal Canadian Mint. A big challenge was the time factor – producing a banknote from concept to issue can take more than 18 months but for the Fiji Sevens banknote, the timeline was just eight months. During this short time, it was imperative that such an iconic banknote and coin did justice to celebrate the immense pride of the Fijian public. According to the Reserve Bank, the key to overcoming both this and other challenges was close collaboration, teamwork and partnership with the suppliers and stakeholders. It was vital to strike the right balance of expectations versus reality, as well as having effective project planning and management support.

As such, an iconic banknote and coin have been produced and proudly welcomed by the Fijian public.

Article originally written by Secura Monde International for Currency News™. All imagery courtesy of the Reserve Bank of Fiji.