At a press-conference held on Mizan 13, 1388 (2009) the Central Bank Governor, His Excellency Abdul Qadeer Fitrat, announced that a new family of banknotes would soon be released to the public.
The bank notes are machine readable, of better quality and have more advanced security features than current banknotes. The security features provide robust protection against counterfeiting.
As a result of the improved quality of the banknotes Governor Fitrat reported that the new banknotes will have a greater longevity (4 years) than existing banknotes (3 years).
The Central bank will gradually replace the existing 85 billion Afs that have been issued to date with the new and improved notes. Old, mutilated and dirty notes will be gradually removed from circulation and destroyed in the Central Banks furnace.
The introduction of new banknotes is standard procedure for central banks around the world. Previously, Afghanistan had three separate currencies which lead to hyper-inflation and macroeconomic instability. The currency reform of 1381 introduced a single currency which is issued exclusively by the central Bank. As a result of these reforms the Afghani currency is one of the most stable currencies in the region.
Courtesy of Ömer Yalçinkaya (omeryalcinkayacollectionshop on eBay).