Switzerland issues new 50-franc banknote

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has unveiled the new 50 franc banknote, the first of the banknotes from the long awaited ninth series. The design focuses on the element of wind. The note, which is 70mm by 137mm, is made using Landqart’s Durasafe® substrate composed of a central transparent polymer layer between two cotton paper layers…

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Vietnam issues commemorative collector note

The State Bank of Vietnam held a press conference on the 4 April 2016 to announce that a souvenir (commemorative) 100 dong banknote will become available during May this year, to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Banking Sector. The new note uses a substrate developed by paper producer Arjowiggins Security called DIAMONE® COMPOSITE which uses…

Poland 20 zloty commemorative banknote thumbnail.

Poland issues new 20 zloty banknote

Poland’s Central Bank, the Naradowy Bank Polski, will issue a new collector 20 zloty banknote on the 12th April 2016 to commemorate the 1050th anniversary of the Baptism of Poland. The note, which was designed by Kristin Michalczuk and printed by the Polish Security Printing Works (PWPW S.A.), contains several modern security features, including De La Rue 3D lens technology based security…

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New Colombian 100,000-peso banknote

A press release from the Colombian Central Bank, the Banco De La República, has confirmed that a new 100,000 peso banknote was introduced on the 31 March 2016. The note is the first of a new series of banknotes issued by the Central Bank, and is an additional denomination to the previous banknote series which consisted…

Cotton fibres used in banknote paper

Ukraine manufactures linen fibre banknotes

Ukraine’s Central Bank, the National Bank of Ukraine, has manufactured its first batch of banknote paper using linen fibres. A press release issued by the Bank on 23 March 2016 details how Ukrainian banknote paper manufacturers have been investigating the possibility of manufacturing banknote paper by mixing traditional cotton fibres with other plant fibres, such…

Durasafe® customer, Kazakhstan banknote.

Kazakhstan and Georgia win Best Banknote of the Year Award

This year’s coveted Banknote of the Year Award has been jointly awarded to the National Banks of Kazakhstan and Georgia. The award was announced by Reconnaissance during this year’s High Security Printing Europe conference in Romania on 15 March 2016. The award recognises outstanding achievement in the design, technical sophistication and security of a banknote…

China begins replacing one yuan banknote with coin

According to the China Radio International’s (CRI) English service, the People’s Bank of China is to begin gradually replacing the one yuan banknote for a coin. In January, the Jinan branch of the People’s Bank of China announced that it will issue the one yuan coins instead of banknotes to commercial banks in five pilot…

UAE issues new 200 dirham banknote

According to local reports, on the 7 March 2016 the United Arab Emirates Central Bank released into circulation a new 200 dirham banknote. The new note includes tactile marks for the visually impaired, which now completes the entire banknote series following a program to upgrade the designs of existing banknotes with such features throughout 2015.…

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Australia sees rise in counterfeit banknotes

There have been several reports in the global media regarding an increase of counterfeit banknotes in Australia. The sources relate to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Annual Report which identified a 63% increase in counterfeit banknotes withdrawn from circulation during the 2014/15 period. This equated to 37,000 notes with a nominal value of $2.0 million, which…

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Lesotho to issue new M200 banknote

According to African news agency StarAfrica, the Central Bank of Lesotho has revealed that it will be launching a new M200 banknote in April this year as part of the current series of banknotes launched in 2010 featuring three generations of the Basotho kings. “The old M200 banknote featuring the portrait of the founding father of…