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Algeria demonetizes 5 banknotes

The Bank of Algeria has announced that 5 types of banknotes will be demonetized and withdrawn from circulation by 31 December 2014. The following notes are in their final year of circulation:

- 100 dinar (1981, P131))
- 100 dinar (1982, P134)
- 20 dinar (1983, P133)
- 200 dinar (1983, P135, seen below from my own collection)
- 10 dinar (1984, P132)

Steven Wednesday 30 April 2014 at 12:20 pm | | news | No comments
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Cheap catalogs!

If you hurry you can pick up some nice catalogs for a bargain. At shopnumismaster.com all ebooks are now offered with a 75% discount. I like to have my catalogs on my iPad so I can bring them with me to fairs and dealers.

I managed to pickup the 12th edition of the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money Specialized Issues as well as the 32nd edition of the Standard Catalog of US Paper Money yesterday. Normally this would cost me 122 dollars but I got them both for 30 dollars! This offer expires tonight so hurry!

The latest and 20th edition of the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money Modern Issues can also be bought for a bargain at $17.50.

Steven Wednesday 30 April 2014 at 10:50 am | | links | No comments
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Interview with De la Rue's Malcolm Knight

Check out this interview with Malcolm Knight, a former research and development director and now consultant at De La Rue. In it he talks about banknotes, design, De la Rue and the future of paper money. Interesting read!

Steven Tuesday 29 April 2014 at 6:26 pm | | links | No comments
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New additions week 17 - 2014

Fantasy banknotes, the opinions on them vary but it's a fact that there are a lot of them. The most well known are from Antarctica and the Disney Dollars. I know a lot of collectors don't want them because they weren't issued by an official bank and are not 'real money' but I like them a lot to be honest. To come up with a good design for a banknote is a lot harder than most people think. Let alone actually producing them. 

This week I received a wonderful gift from the Mujand Trading Company. Not only have they printed fantasy banknotes, they have even designed several series belonging to different 'countries' on the planet Blissdane Naïve in the Mujand System. There is a whole mythology behind the notes, the different countries and even time periods. I received a gift package containing the B-series of banknotes from the Territory of West Junee

If you're interested in fantasy banknotes or collect them, go check them out!

© mujand.com

© mujand.com

Steven Sunday 27 April 2014 at 3:33 pm | | new additions | No comments
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Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan agree on joint currency

Interesting news from Standartnews.com (which got it from the Russian Pravda newspaper):

In May 2014, presidents of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus will sign an agreement on the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union. Sections 9 and 11 the agreement, the draft of which is available on the official website of the Russian Ministry for Economic Development, are devoted to the joint monetary policy and financial markets. During the first stage, it is planned to set up an advisory board of the heads of central banks of participating states. The banks would be responsible for the rate of national currencies, regulation of banking and insurance activities and the harmonization of the securities market, Russian Pravda reports.

According to the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper that cited a source in the Eurasian Economic Commission, the document stipulates for the establishment of the Eurasian Central Bank - the supranational megaregulator of the joint currency. The Eurasian Central Bank will be subordinated to the council of presidents or prime ministers of the EEU.

The name of the new joint currency has been supposedly coordinated - altyn. The new currency is likely to be introduced not later than in 2025, although international economic sanctions against Russia may cut the process to 3-5 years.

The idea of the new joint currency belongs to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. In 2012, the idea found support with Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev. In Russia, altyn was the word to refer to three-kopeck coins.

The President of Kazakhstan is a longtime champion of the introduction of a new supranational reserve currency. He believes the dollar is an illegal and non-competitive means of payment. Nazarbayev said earlier that the "world currency was not de jure legitimate because it was never adopted by any communities or organizations." "There is no such international law," he said.

According to Nazarbayev, "the world currency market is not a civilized market, as the system of world currency issuance is not being controlled." The Kazakh president believes that the world is moving towards a new monetary system: from "defective capitalism" to "the new capitalism that would be based on a non-defective currency - self-growing global wealth."

Altyn had been in circulation on the territory of several Russian principalities from the XV century. The coins appeared simultaneously with the beginning of the era of coinage. Interestingly, the altyn was used as a Eurasian currency immediately after it appeared. This coin was used in calculations between Russian and Asians nationals. In the XVII century, 20 altyn could buy a live calf, five - a piglet, two or three - a goose.

The name of the coin could be borrowed from the Golden Horde, where there was a coin of the same name. According to researchers, the word "altyn" comes from the Turkic numeral "alti" which means "six." Others believe that Russia simply adopted the Turkic word "gold" that sounds just like the name of the coin. However, the altyn was never coined in gold. Originally, it was made of copper; the silver altyn appeared during the times of Peter the Great.

In 1839, under Nicholas I, the altyn was revived in the form of copper coins of three kopecks. Three-kopeck copper coins were used during the Soviet era, although the coins lost the original name. The coins of this value disappeared after 1991.

1 Altyn coin from 1712 (source: Wikipedia)

Steven Friday 25 April 2014 at 2:09 pm | | news | No comments

New additions week 17 - 2014

Remember kids, when you know of a friend, a colleague or a family member going on vacation to an exotic country, always ask to bring some money back as a souvenir. I did, and look what it got me: three new Moroccan banknotes, including two from the new series!

  • 50 dirham - P69a
  • 20 dirham - P74
  • 100 dirham - P76

Steven Sunday 20 April 2014 at 07:39 am | | new additions | No comments
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Belarus hints at new banknotes 'resembling euros'

Forex.co reports that the president of Belarus, Aleksander Lukashenko, announced at a meeting that a new series of banknotes will be printed.

New bills resembling euros will be launched into circulation after the redenomination is over. "I know you demand a new beautiful currency because millions of Belarusian rubles are heavy to carry in wallets. The time will be ripe for it. We need to push forward with the economy. We need to achieve certain stability," Lukashenko addressed employees of the aircraft repair plant in Baranovichi. At the meeting with the staff of one of the largest factory, it emerged that newly designed banknotes had been printed and delivered to special storage facilities.

Belarus is in the process of redenomination for a third time. The Belarusian currency was redenominated on 20 August 1994, with one new unit equaling 10 old ones, and the second time it lost three zeros on 1 January 2000. 

We heard these rumours before but don't expect new Belarusian banknotes before 2015.

Steven Monday 14 April 2014 at 8:12 pm | | news | No comments
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Will Argentina print higher denominations?

The Argentinian Congress has adopted a proposal for the printing of banknotes of 200, 500 and 1000 peso. Currently the highest denomination in Argentina is the 100 peso. Member of Congress Guillermo Durand Cornejo who introduced the bill pointed out that 97.1% of all circulating banknotes is either the 50 or 100 peso. Due to the rising inflation in the country there is a need for bigger notes.

The bill also proposes the design for the new banknotes:

No word yet if these proposed banknotes will actually be printed.

Steven Monday 14 April 2014 at 7:57 pm | | news | No comments
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New additions week 16 - 2014

Last weekend was the bi-annual Papermoney Fair Maastricht in the lovely town of Valkenburg aan den Geul. This year all tables were sold out so it was packed with dealers, buyers and tons of great banknotes. What I really liked this year in comparison with previous years was the amount of 'cheap' banknotes offered. Everywhere were crates filled with banknotes sold for a few euro. I'm sure lots of collectors skip these offers but it meant that the fair was useful for every type of collector, including the beginners or people with limited funds. 

I also managed to get some nice new notes and expand the amount of countries in my collection. The purchase list:

  • Armenia, 100 dram, P42
  • Aruba, 10 florin, P16b
  • Bermuda, 2 dollar, P57a
  • Denmark, 10 kroner, P44ag
  • El Salvador, 1 colon, P125a
  • Ghana, 10,000 cedis, P35a
  • Macedonia, 10 denari, P14c
  • Netherlands, 10 gulden, P85
  • Norway, 10 kroner, P36c
  • Somaliland, 1000 shillings, P20
  • Somaliland, 5000 shillings, P21
  • Timor, 100 escudos, P28a

Steven Monday 14 April 2014 at 09:02 am | | new additions | No comments
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Iraq announces new series of banknotes

The Central Bank of Iraq has announced that a new series of banknotes will be printed, according to several newssites. The update will include new images, two added dates of the Hijri and Gregorian calendar and a signature by the Governor of the Central Bank Abdul Basit Turki Saeed. The security features will of course also be updated, like the inclusion of a security thread, color changing ink and signs to aid the visually impaired.

The 10,000 dinar note will get an image of the Freedom Monument in Baghdad. The 25,000 dinar note will get an agricultural theme with a plowing tractor. The old and new banknotes will circulate together.

Because the info is still sketchy and hard to translate from the original sources and because no images have been released yet, this news will be updated when more info is available.

Steven Friday 11 April 2014 at 09:10 am | | news | No comments
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This weekend: Papermoney Fair Spring 2014

A quick reminder that this weekend 11-13 April 2014 the Papermoney Fair Maastricht will be held in Valkenburg a/d Geul. Over 200 dealers will be present: it´s completely sold out! That means more than enough choice for us collectors. More info about the event can be found on this website (don't judge the fair by the horrible layout of the site: it's way better in real life!).

Steven Thursday 10 April 2014 at 8:27 pm | | links | No comments
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Lebanon issues new polymer commemorative note

The Central Bank of Lebanon has issued a new commemorative note of 50,000 Lebanese pounds according to a press release by the printer, De la Rue:

The Banque du Liban is today launching a new polymer banknote produced on Safeguard, De La Rue’s polymer substrate.

Beirut: 9 April 2014 : The new Commemorative polymer banknote is issued to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Banque du Liban. With vibrant colours and imagery, the new note uses the latest technology as protection against counterfeiting. The clear ‘window’ area in the banknote shows an image of the Cedar of Lebanon in a bright, eye-catching blue/green ink which changes colour as the note is tilted and which can be seen from both sides of the note. The Banque is proud to be the first issuing authority in the region to use this colour changing ink in the clear window of the banknote.

De La Rue’s Sales Director Ruth Euling commented: ‘De La Rue is honoured that the Banque du Liban has selected our Safeguard polymer for their banknotes and included the SPARK ® Orbital TM feature which provides a dynamic, high impact public recognition feature. We congratulate the Banque on being the first issuer in the region to adopt the new technologies”.

Safeguard™ and Orbital are trade marks of De La Rue International Limited

SPARK® is a registered trade mark of SICPA Holdings SA

I haven't been able to find an image yet but let's hope it's a better looking note than the last commemorative issue from Lebanon.

Update: here are the images:

Steven Thursday 10 April 2014 at 8:11 pm | | news | No comments

Iceland to replace lowest denomination with a coin?

In its annual report for 2013, published last week, the Central Bank of Iceland stated that because inflation has been high in Iceland it "has often been necessary to adjust the face value of banknotes and coins to a higher price level".

This probably means that in the "near future" the lowest denomination banknote, the 500 krónur, will be replaced by a coin. 


Steven Tuesday 08 April 2014 at 8:27 pm | | news | No comments
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Guatemala issues updated 20 and 50 quetzales notes

According to MRI Report the Bank of Guatemala has issued an updated version of its 20 and 50 quetzales banknotes. 

"The Banco de Guatemala announced the release of an improved 50 quetzales note. While the design is similar to the previous ones, it has a wide segmented OVI band and a golden "coffee grain." It also shows the value in Braille. This note is printed by OberthurTechnologies. Also announced is a 20 quetzales note which has a magenta wide security thread. This one is printed by Goznak."

Pictures below taken from the information leaflets in the links above.


Steven Monday 07 April 2014 at 08:27 am | | news | No comments

Mongolia won't print a new 50,000 tögrög note soon

The Prime Minister of Mongolia N.Altnakhuyag has denied rumours that the Central Bank of Mongolia is going to introduce a 50,000 tögrög note anytime soon:

"Today (April 3) I asked President of Mongolbank N.Zoljargal if it is going to introduce a 50 thousand MNT banknote and he responded, “No”. So, it is a rumor."

For now, the 20,000 tögrög note remains the highest denomination in Mongolia. 

Steven Friday 04 April 2014 at 8:42 pm | | news | No comments
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Argentina presents new note showing the Falkland Islands

Argentine President Cristina Fernández has presented a new 50-peso note commemorating the 32nd anniversary of the invasion of the British archipelago. Argentine forces invaded the Falkland Islands (called Las Malvinas by Argentina) on 2 April 1982 but surrendered after just over two months of fighting. A total 255 British and about 650 Argentine servicemen were killed in the fighting, along with three Falkland civilians. In March 2013, residents in the Falkland Islands voted overwhelmingly in a referendum in favour of remaining British. Just three residents out of 1,517 were against remaining British.

On the front, it displays a map of the islands in the white and blue colours of the Argentine flag. On the back we see a gaucho who rose up against British rule in 1833. An exact issue date is unknown at this time but MRI Guide expects it to be issued "by years' end".

© banknotenews.com
© banknotenews.com

Steven Friday 04 April 2014 at 8:29 pm | | news | No comments