According to an Al Jazeera article dated 11 July 2011 as well as a BBC article dated 11 July 2011, South Sudan—which just gained its independence on 9 July—will introduce its own currency next week [update: the notes officially entered circulation on 18 July]. The South Sudan pound notes featureRead More…
Today’s challenge is to identify the following man whose face appears as the watermark on all of Mauritania’s notes since 1974. This man’s face appears as the watermark on all of Mauritania’s notes since 1974, and is shown here from an unissued specimen design of 1981: IDENTIFIED: The watermark hasRead More…
According to an article in Times Live dated 9 July 2011, the South African Reserve Bank has outsourced printing of the 100-rand note to Sweden following the discovery of missing security features on notes previously printed by the SA Bank Note Company. Other problems with other denominations have left theRead More…
Today’s challenge is to identify the following plants and flowers from Lesotho’s banknotes. If you can precisely identify the proper name of any of the following—or have a lead which you think might be useful—please post a comment, preferably including a URL which links to evidence supporting your identification. ThisRead More…
B231 (P36): 10 emalangeni (US$0.70) Blue. Front: English and Swazi text; King Mswati III; coat of arms with lion and elephant flanking shield topped with crown of feathers (lidlabe); shield (isihlangu), spears (sikhali), and staff (umgobo). Back: English text; nine princesses taking part in the Ncwala (kingship ceremony); bank seal.Read More…
Today I’m inaugurating a new feature on BanknoteNews.com: The Challenge. Anyone who has downloaded chapters of The Banknote Book catalog knows that I take pains to precisely identify all the people, places, and objects depicted on banknotes. However, sometimes precise identifications remain elusive despite all the efforts of myself andRead More…
According to a press release dated 30 June 2011, the Central Bank of Swaziland announced the release into circulation the remaining denominations (10, 20, 50, and 200 emalangeni) of its new series of banknotes. This comes after the official introduction of the 100-lilangeni note on 1 November 2010, and theRead More…
According to an article in the Times of Africa dated 21 June 2011, the Bank of Zambia is contemplating replacing the paper 500- and polymer 1,000-kwacha notes with coins, and issuing notes larger than the current highest denomination of 50,000 kwacha. The bank is also considering using polymer for aRead More…
Like B148b, but new signature (Ligoya) and new date (31ST JANUARY 2011). Courtesy of Nazir Rahemtulla.Read More…
There’s an interesting article on Somalilandpress dated 28 May 2011 which discusses Somaliland’s efforts to replace Somali banknotes in its region. Courtesy of Richard Miranda.Read More…