New Releases
The Bank of England has unveiled the design of the new polymer five pound banknote. The banknote features Winston Churchill and is set for release on the 13th of September 2016. Full details can be viewed HERE.
England 2016 Polymer £5 Bnaknote Reverse
Poland has unveiled a new 500 Zloty banknote to be released in February of 2017. The 500 Zloty will exceed the current 200 Zloty as the highest denominated banknote in circulation for Poland. More details of the new release can be viewed HERE.
Poland 2017 500 Zloty Banknote obverse
Nepal has released the new 100 Rupee banknote. The note is similar to previous 2012 issues(p73) but bears a new signature(Chiranjivi Nepal ) on the obverse. The vignette on the reverse has been altered to add a rhinoceros calf in the foreground.
Nepal 2015 100 Rupee Banknote Obverse
Nepal 2015 100 Rupee Banknote Reverse
Columbia is set to release a new 20 Peso banknote on the 30th of June 2016. Full Details can be viewed HERE
If you have been following banknote news in the past few months then you know about the confusing mess that is the Libyan currency market. With two competing central banks each looking to issue paper money and adding militant factions into the mix forcing shopkeepers to accept outdated currency on top, it gets difficult to keep things straight at times. New Eastern Central Bank of Libya banknotes, printed in Russia, that we reported on in last month's post have now been spotted in the wild. They are similar in appearance to the regular 2013 notes(P80) only with improved security features, new watermark. The right hand serial number is now horizontal at the bottom, instead of vertical in the margin.
Libya 2016 'New Russian Type' 50 Dinar Obverse
Other
The Bank of China has obtained permission to issue a special commemorative banknote in celebration of the centenary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Branch. According to Yue Yi, the Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of BOC HONG KONG, the note will likely be released around September of 2017. No further details are available yet.
The European Central Bank has announced, in a press release date 16 June 2016, that it plans to unveil the design of a new €50 banknote on July the 5th. The new banknote will likely be introduced into circulation during the spring of 2017.
The Bank of Mauritius has initiated the process of replacing the current 4th series banknotes with a new 5th series. According to a press release dated 17 June2016, the current design will be replaced by elements more representative of the country’s national heritage, history, culture, endemic species of the Mauritian flora and fauna, and distinctive landscapes. A Banknote design committee has been convened and the Bank of Mauritius hopes to begin a phased release of the new series of banknotes by mid 2017.
Minor Updates
There are reports circulating the the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency plans to withdraw the 1 Ryal banknote. Supposedly the plan is to replace the banknote with a 2 Ryal coin instead. No official confirmation of this has been issued yet.
The Jordanian 50 Dinar banknote has been spotted with a new date of 2016(٢٠١٦). There date appears to be the only difference between this and other notes of the same type.
Jordan 2016 50 Dinar Obverse
Guyana $100 notes are now appearing with signatures of the new Governor and Finance minister(Gobind Ganga and Ashni Singh ), all other details are unchanged.
The current Jordanian 1 Dinar note(p34) has appeared with a new signature and date of 2016.
Jordan 2016 1 Dinar p34 Obverse
Jordan 2016 1 Dinar p34 Reverse
The 200 Peso banknote(p209) from the Philippines, usually appearing with a date of 2010, has now been confirmed with a new variant that carries the date of 2014.
In the last month we have seen numerous unconfirmed reports that the Central Bank of Egypt was planning to re-introduce the 1 Pound as well as the 50 and 25 piastres banknotes. This, supposedly, in response to the relatively higher production costs of coins, to replace a huge amount of Chinese produces counterfeit coins in circulation. These reports now seem to have had some merit as a new Egyptian 1 Pound banknote has now appeared. The note is similar to the old 2008 issue(p50), but carries a new security thread to the right. It also bears a new signature(Tarek Hassan Amer) and a new date of 2016.
Egypt 2016 1 Pound note(similar to p50 except for date) Obverse
Egypt 2016 1 Pound note(similar to p50 except for date) Reverse
Malawi has issued banknotes with a new date of 1st January 2016. These notes are similar to the 2012 series(p57 to p62), only with a new date. The notes also include improved raised printing features at the bottom left corner to make the banknotes easier to identify for the blind.
Malawi 2016 1000 Kwacha(p62) Banknote Obverse
Malawi 2016 200 Kwacha(p60) Banknote Obverse
Oman have issued new commemorative 1 Rial banknotes, this time correcting the date error that occurred on the same notes originally released late in 2015. The Hijri year now reads as ١٤٣٧ (1437) and not ١٤٢٧ (1427) as they did before.
Oman 2016 1 Rial with corrected date Obverse
Oman 2016 1 Rial with corrected date Reverse
Oman 2015 1 Rial date error on obverse
Indonesia has issued banknotes with updated dates, 2016, appearing on them. There doesn't appear to be any other difference between these 2016 issues and the previous 2013 notes.(p150 to p153 have been confirmed so lower denominations are likely to follow)
Indonesia 2016 10000 Rupiah Banknote(p150) Obverse
Indonesia 2016 10000 Rupiah Banknote(p150) Reverse