SMI is the acknowledged world leader in the provision of independent technical & commercial expertise to the currency industry. Founded in 1994, SMI consultants each have many years’ experience working in the currency industry, and consequently have extensive knowledge and understanding of all aspects of the banknote and coin markets, offering consultancy services on a range of issues related to the security, manufacture, issue, circulation and management of physical cash in the economy.
The Swiss National Bank, the central bank of Switzerland, has today revealed the new 20-franc banknote design The 20-franc banknote is the second of the latest ninth series of banknotes to be issued in Switzerland, following the release of the award winning 50-franc note in April last year. The new note will be issued into circulation…
The International Bank Note Society (IBNS) has announced the new Swiss 50 banknote as the winner of the Bank Note of The Year Award 2016. The 50-franc banknote was issued by the Swiss National Bank in Switzerland in April 2016, the first denomination to be circulated from the country’s ninth banknote series. Printed by Orell Fussli Security Printing…
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…
In a move towards a cashless society, South Korea has begun a trial whereby cash paying shoppers can receive their transactional change in the form of a credit deposited onto pre-paid payment cards, instead of coins. The trial begins today following an announcement by the Bank of Korea last year detailing efforts to reduce the volume of circulating coins within the country. Customers…
The Isle of Man Treasury has announced the launch of the latest set of Manx circulating coins, including a five pound coin. The new coins will begin circulating from today, Monday 10 April 2017, on the Isle of Man, a self-governing Crown dependency situated between England and Northern Ireland with a population of around 86,000 people. The…
The Bank of Canada (BOC) has unveiled a commemorative ten dollar banknote celebrating the 150th anniversary of Confederation. The new $10 banknote was unveiled on Friday 7th April by the Bank’s Governor Stephen S. Poloz and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance Ginette Petitpas Taylor at a ceremony at the Bank’s head office in Ottawa.…
The fourth banknote of the Europa series, the euro €50, enters circulation today containing a variety of new, modern security features to help combat the threat of banknote counterfeiting. The new euro €50 banknote denomination includes KURZ’s KINEGRAM ReView® holographic foil stripe including a portrait window. The window displays a portrait of Greek mythology figure Europa, visible on…
Following an announcement last November, De La Rue opens its Global Centre of Excellence for Security Print on the European island of Malta. The Centre was opened last Thursday, 30 March 2017, by The Prime Minister of Malta, Joseph Muscat. According to De La Rue, it has been designed to “deliver the next generation of…
The new 12-sided £1 coin has entered circulation today, said to be the most secure circulating coin in the world. The new coin, issued by The Royal Mint, contains several new features making it difficult to counterfeit. Previously, the one pound coin had become vulnerable to counterfeiters, with one in 30 pound coins in circulation being counterfeit.…
The Central Bank of Nicaragua has issued a 1000 córdobas banknote into circulation commemorating the centenary of the death of famous poet Rubén Darío. A press release dated 20 March 2017 from the Banco Central de Nicaragua confirms that the commemorative banknote was released into circulation three days earlier, on 17 March. The banknote is a limited…