Feliz año nuevo 

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda

Szczesliwego Nowego Roku

Urte Berri on

Bliain nua fe mhaise dhuit

Bliadhna mhath ur



Happy New Year to everyone, wherever

you may be . 

make 2014 the best year ever !!!


Sláinte

LEBANESE BANKNOTE CELEBRATES INDEPENDENCE - BUT CANT SPELL IT !!

 Lebanon will go ahead with plans to issue banknotes marking 70 years since its independence despite a spelling mistake on the commemorative currency, the Central Bank said on Friday.

The French-language face of the special issue 50,000 pound note, which is worth about $33, spells "independence" as it is written in English, rather than the French "independance".

The bank said it regretted the mistake, which it blamed on the printing company, but said the notes would still go into circulation next Friday, when Lebanon marks the anniversary of the end of French colonial rule in 1943.

Reuters

ADDITION TO SPAIN

A Big thanks to my friend Gill for this addition to the spain portfolio !! it is a 1000 peseta note. although this note has the 1992 date on it, it wasn't issued until 1996. On the front is Hernán Cortés, the spanish conquistador who led the expedition that led to the downfall of the Aztec civilisation. On the reverse is Francisco Pizarro, another conquistador who tried to do the same to the Incas as his distant cousin , Cortés, had done to the Aztecs. Pizarro founded the city of Lima in Peru.

See Here for other spanish Notes

Documentary about the Aztec empire (43 mins long)

HUDDERSFIELD BANKNOTE BACK IN USA

Historic Huddersfield banknotes have a new home ... in the USA.

They were bought by a descendant of John Dobson who founded Huddersfield Old Bank and so are back with the family.

In July we ran a story about John Dobson and Sons bank notes being auctioned for thousands of pounds.

Now we can reveal that three of them were bought by Sandi Hewlett who lives in Pennsylvania.

She said: “I managed to bid high enough to obtain three of the four notes at auction.

“My interest in these notes is because John Dobson (1753-1818) who founded the bank and his son John Dobson (1780-1857) were my fifth and fourth great grandfathers, respectively.

“One of the notes is valued at one pound and is signed by J Dobson on August 1, 1823.

“Through my genealogy research I have found other descendants of John Dobson (1753-1818) and his wife Sarah Wood and of his son John Dobson (1780-1857) and his wife Anna Maria Walker. We’re all quite pleased to have a bit of memorabilia from our ancestors.”

Sandi was born in New York City, is married to Larry and has lived in Pennsylvania for 32 years.

She works as a full-time genealogist, mostly researching for clients with Pennsylvania ancestry.

She was certified by the Board for Certification of Genealogists (Washington, DC) in 2001. Sandi now serves on the Board of Directors for the International Society of British Genealogy and Family History.

Not surprisingly with such experience at genealogy Sandi has an in depth knowledge of her own family history.

Her ancestor John Dobson (1753-1818) founded the Dobson & Sons bank, which was inherited by his two sons, John Dobson (1780-1857), and his brother William Beevers Dobson (1788-1839). William Beevers Dobson did not marry.

Sandi said: “When Dobson & Sons Bank filed for bankruptcy in 1826 John Dobson and his wife Anna Maria (Walker) Dobson (daughter of Joshua Walker and Martha Sykes) moved with their unmarried children from their home in Almondbury to London where they resided in Southwark.

“John Dobson became a hop merchant and employed two of his sons.”

The only child of John Dobson and Anna Maria to remain in Yorkshire was Emma Maria Dobson (1804-1851) who married William Jacomb (1795-1868) at Almondbury in 1826. He was a Huddersfield lawyer who was born in London. Both are buried at St Peter’s Church, Huddersfield.

Sandi adds: “One of John Dobson and Anna Maria’s daughters, Eliza Louisa Dobson, married George Stacey, on February 6, 1828 at St Saviour in Southwark.

“In 1836 George Stacey and Eliza Louisa – along with three of their four children – sailed to Canada where they settled in what is called the Eastern Townships of Quebec which was quite a wilderness at that time. Their daughter, Louisa, who remained in England, eventually sailed for Canada to join her family in 1849. Up to that time, Louisa lived with her grandparents George Stacey and Sarah (Hubbard) Stacey at the Tower of London where her grandfather, George Stacey, worked in the Ordnance Department for 60 years from 1807 until he retired in 1858.

“George Stacey and Eliza Louisa are my third great grandparents. Their son Alfred Stacey (1836-1907) had a daughter Bertha Caroline Stacey who married Henry Herbert Winslow in 1881 in Sherbrooke, Quebec, and they are my great-grandparents.

Henry (1852-1925) and Bertha (1862-1922) had a daughter Mae Winslow who is my grandmother.

Mae Winslow (1894-1975) married Reginald Lobdell (1891-1951) at Eaton Corner, Quebec, in January 1913 and then they moved to New Hampshire in 1914.

Their daughter Evangeline Lobdell is my mother, born February 1920 in Bartlett, New Hampshire.”

Most of Sandi’s research was conducted in England, both in London and at the Huddersfield Library and the Yorkshire Archives in Wakefield.

Source: The Huddersfield Daily Examiner

EARLY CIRCULATION OF CANADIAN $5 AND $10

OTTAWA, Nov. 7, 2013 /CNW/ - 

The Bank of Canada has announced the entry into circulation of the new $5 and $10 polymer bank notes. Starting today, these final two notes in the new polymer Frontiers series will be available at financial institutions across Canada.

Bank of Canada Governor Stephen S. Poloz launched the $5 note at the Canadian Space Agency in Saint-Hubert, Quebec. He was joined by Chris Hadfield, retired Canadian astronaut and former Commander of the International Space Station. The $10 note was launched at an event held simultaneously at Vancouver's train station by Senior Deputy Governor Tiff Macklem and VIA Rail Canada President and Chief Executive Officer Marc Laliberté.

"With the introduction of the $5 and $10, we complete the rollout of a series that is at the frontier of bank note technology and sets a global benchmark for bank note security," said Governor Poloz. "These leading-edge notes are not only hard to counterfeit, but they are also designed to be easy to check. All five denominations in the Frontiers series carry the same security features that help Canadians verify them with ease and ensure that counterfeiting levels in Canada remain very low."

For the first time since the 1954 series, the Bank of Canada is issuing two notes on the same day. This helps manufacturers, owners and operators of bank note equipment upgrade their machines at a lower cost. The Bank of Canada has been working closely with Canada's financial sector and the cash-handling industry since 2009 and throughout the launch of this series to support a successful transition to polymer notes.

"Not only are these notes safer, they are also cheaper and greener than the previous series," said Senior Deputy Governor Macklem. "They last longer than paper notes, which will save millions of dollars, since fewer polymer notes will have to be printed. Fewer notes produced means fewer notes transported and this means a reduced impact on the Canadian environment. Plus, polymer notes will be recycled."

Chris Hadfield spoke of the significance of featuring Canadian robotics innovations on the new $5 note. "The Canadarm2 and Dextre images on the $5 bank note remind me of the determination, ingenuity and dedication of so many people at the Canadian Space Agency, in the space industry and academia across the country. As Canadians use the new $5 note and see these space symbols, I know they will be reminded of these qualities," he said.

Marc Laliberté added that VIA Rail is proud that the new $10 note features the Canadian train. "Today is the 128th anniversary of the driving of the last spike that completed the construction of Canada's railway, and linked the country from sea to sea. So it is only fitting that this new $10 bank note should celebrate the pioneering spirit, and the true grit and determination of Canadians who helped unite our country, with the promise of an even better future."

The themes of the denominations are:

$100 Medical Innovation - celebrates Canadian innovations in the field of medicine (Portrait: Sir Robert Borden)

$50 CCGS Amundsen, Research Icebreaker - reflects Canada's commitment to Arctic research and the development and support of northern communities (Portrait: William Lyon Mackenzie King)

$20 The Canadian National Vimy Memorial - evokes the contributions and sacrifices of Canadians in conflicts throughout our history (Portrait: HM Queen Elizabeth II)

$10 The Canadian train - represents Canada's great engineering feat of linking its eastern and western frontiers by what was, at the time, the longest railway ever built (Portrait: Sir John A. Macdonald)

$5 Canadarm2 and Dextre - symbolizes Canada's continuing contribution to the international space station program through robotics innovation (Portrait: Sir Wilfrid Laurier)

Read more: from Digital Journal

SOCHI OLYMPIC SNOWBOARDER BANKNOTES UNVEILED

MOSCOW, October 30 (R-Sport) - Special-edition banknotes for next year's Winter Olympics in Sochi were unveiled Wednesday, with 100 days to go until Russia's first Winter Games.

Twenty-million of the blue 100 ruble ($3.13) notes will be produced, with an unusual vertical design depicting a snowboarder and several of the venues in the Sochi Olympic Park.

The note's "vertical composition, which is a response to modern tendencies in banknote design, has made it possible to portray the uniqueness off the natural region, where snowy mountains meet the warm sea," the Olympic organizing committee said in a statement.

It is unclear when the notes, which differ from the regular red 100-ruble notes, will enter general circulation.

Organizers also displayed the design of a 25-ruble commemorative coin for the Olympic torch relay, which depicts the route of the relay around Russia, with the torch superimposed. The 25-ruble denomination is not currently used.

Both the banknotes and coin will be legal tender. There will also be special 50-ruble stamps dedicated to the torch relay.

Back in March, Russian state-owned bank Sberbank started sales of a rectangular coin featuring a polar bear, one of three Sochi OIympic mascots. It has not gone into general distribution.

source: Rianovosti

PESO BANKNOTES COULD GET YOU TO THE MOON

MANILA - How many peso bank notes and coins are there in the Philippines? 

According to the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), the combined length of the country's banknotes -- if these were connected end to end -- is enough to go nine times around the earth’s equator or nearly the distance of the earth to the moon.

NSCB Secretary-General Jose Ramon G. Albert said the country had 2.32 billion pieces of notes valued at P603.64 billion as of last June.

Laid down end-to-end, the banknotes would run to more than 371.2 thousand kilometers – equivalent to 100 time the length of the Pan-Philippine National Highway, which extends from Laoag City in Ilocos Norte to Zamboanga City in Mindanao.

There are two sets of banknotes issued by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and in use today: the New Design Series (NDS) and the New Generation Currency (NGC). The NDS has been in use for more than a quarter of a century while the NGC has been in use starting December 2010.

To thwart counterfeiters, the NGC features improved security features which include embossed prints, security fibers, watermark, see-through mark, and others.

The NGC shall eventually replace the NDS once the latter is demonetized. In the meantime, both are legal tender. 

Apart from banknotes, the Philippines had 20.08 billion pieces of coins in circulation worth a combined P22.77 billion as of June this year.

More than half or 56.6 percent of these are lower denominated coins. Coins in circulation are the following: one centavo, five centavos, 10 centavos, 25 centavos, one peso, five pesos and 10 pesos.

Citing BSP estimates, Albert said the number of coins is equivalent to 207 pieces of coins per Filipino. 

But, is there a shortage of coins? 

"Believe it or not, the Philippines does not have a shortage of coins," Albert said.

"The BSP explains that occasionally, there is an artificial shortage of coins due to the habit of people of keeping coins in wallets, drawers and piggy banks instead of using them as payment for goods and services, or depositing them in banks," he said.

In the case of one-peso coins, there is high demand because of the popularity of "coin games," which interfere in the circulation of coins throughout the economy, Albert said.

In the past, the BSP and the Bureau of Customs recorded attempts to smuggle out one-peso coins and in some cases, they are hoarded for melting and export, Albert said. 

As per Republic Act No. 7653, otherwise known as the New Central Bank Act, the BSP has the sole power and authority to issue currency within the Philippine territory. The BSP not only issues Philippine peso banknotes and coins for general circulation but also commemorative notes and coins which are legal tender as well.

source: Interaksyon

NEW 10,000 kr. BANKNOTE IN CIRCULATION IN ICELAND

The Central Bank of Iceland launched Iceland’s new 10,000 kr. banknote yesterday, Thursday 24 October 2013. The purpose of the issue is to facilitate and streamline payment intermediation in Iceland, in part by reducing the number of banknotes in circulation.

At the end of September, there were 13.9 million banknotes in circulation, including 7.1 million 5,000 kr. notes. 10.000 Icelandic krona amounts to approximately 61 EUR.

The new banknote is dedicated to poet Jónas Hallgrímsson and features a number of references to Jónas and his work. The banknote is similar in appearance to those already in circulation and will incorporate a greater number of new, more advanced security features. The background colour of the note is blue. The note was designed by Kristín Þorkelsdóttir and Stephen A. Fairbairn.

The security features of the new 10,000 kr. note are largely the same as those on other Icelandic banknotes. The main difference is that in place of the security thread and metal foil is a new security feature called Optiks. Optiks is an 18-mm wide thread with a see-through window. The Optiks thread is actually multi-dimensional, as it incorporates several different security features. Information on Optiks and other security features of the 10,000 kr. banknote can be found on the Central Bank of Iceland website.

A conventional feature for the blind can be found on the note, in the form of four raised horizontal lines on the obverse. The Optiks feature can be used as an identifier for the blind. The 10,000 kr. note is 70 x 162 mm in size and is therefore 7 mm longer than the 5,000 kr. note, helping users to distinguish between the two.

The new notes were printed by De La Rue Plc. in the UK. De La Rue and its predecessors have handled banknote printing for Iceland for 83 years. Four million banknotes were printed at a purchase price of 29 kr. each, whereas two 5,000 kr. notes would have cost 36 kr. (18 kr. each). In this context, it should be noted that the security features of the new banknotes, including the Optiks feature, are more expensive.

In 2012, withdrawals from automatic teller machines (ATM) in Iceland totalled 55 b.kr. At present, the average ATM withdrawal amount is 10,300 kr. The 10,000 kr. banknote will become available at ATMs soon, but it is not yet certain in how many ATMs to begin with. It will be available at bank branches, however.
Informational material on the 10,000 kr. banknote, including photographs, graphics, and a more detailed description of the security features, can be found on the Central Bank of Iceland website, 

source: news of iceland

Kenya’s New Currency Has Problems

Kenya is planning new coins and bank notes that for the first time since independence will not depict its current or past leaders.

The new currency will comply with Article 231(4) of the 2010 Constitution mandating that coins and bank notes issued by the central bank may depict symbols of any aspect of Kenya, but may not depict any individual’s portrait.

This should be a simple matter of making and issuing new coins and notes, but in Kenya things won’t be that simple. The new bank notes are likely to be printed through a joint venture with the security printing company De La Rue as was recommended by Kenya’s Public Accounts Committee. The recommendation would involve the government acquiring 40 percent of the British subsidiary company based in Ruyaraka, Nairobi. The problem is that Kenya does not want to tie the Central Bank of Kenya to the exclusive 10-year currency printing commitment being demanded by De La Rue in exchange for the agreement. The joint venture has been projected to cost Kenya 655 million shilling (about $7.48 million US).

Members of Kenya’s parliament have confirmed the joint venture will not guarantee the bank would receive a fair market price for the work to be performed. There are also questions regarding if the Ruyaraka facility has the capacity required to produce the needed currency for the change in Kenya’s currency.

Another matter yet to be properly addressed is the 10-shilling coins that are planned to be replaced with a bank note of the same face value. Local news sources indicated it is considered too early for the central bank to begin educating the public about this change in their change. No information was available at the time this article was being written as to who has been striking these coins.

The biggest problem yet to be addressed, however, is that while Kenya is trying to reach this change in its currency by the Constitution’s deadline of February 2015 the East African Community is still moving ahead with a planned monetary union that includes Kenya.

According an article published in the Aug.21 Standard newspaper, “It is not clear how [the] CBK will release the new notes and coins in the same year the EAC partner states are expected to set up a monetary union. The union will see issuance of new notes and coins in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi.”

The EAC is an intergovernmental organization comprised of the African Great Lakes region countries of eastern Africa. The EAC has its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. Initially founded in 1977, the organization collapsed 10 years later. The EAC was revived in 2000 with an announced goal of uniting the five nations into a single state to be called the East African Federation with a common market and common currency, this being the East Africa shilling. The EA shilling was initially planned to be launched in 2012, but the target date for its introduction has since been pushed back to 2015.

There may be some underlying intrigue as well, regarding Kenya’s new currency. PAC raised questions about what some individuals in Parliament called “an assault on the independence of the Central Bank of Kenya.” It was the cabinet secretary, not the Kenya National Treasury or the central bank that approved the new currency system, knowing fully well the EAC monetary union is moving ahead. (It was Kenya Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Kimemia rather than a central bank spokesman who announced the new coins and bank notes in August.)

The cost of printing new Kenya bank notes has been estimated to cost about 3,721 shilling for each 1,000 notes.

from Numismaster.com
 

RESERVE BANK OF FIJI WINS AWARD

The Reserve Bank of Fiji (RBF) was awarded the ‘Regional Banknote of the Year Award 2013’ for the Flora and Fauna Banknote Series at the Reconnaissance International Limited Asian Middle East and African High Security Printing Seminar that was held in Bangkok, Thailand from 7–9 October, 2013. The new design banknotes were issued into circulation from 2 January 2013.

RBF Deputy Governor Mr Inia R Naiyaga said the RBF is extremely proud of this milestone achievement. The RBF extends its sincere gratitude to the Currency Design Committee comprising eminent Fijians for their excellent selection of Fiji’s unique flora and fauna some of which are believed to be extinct, to note printers De La Rue Currency, United Kingdom and all stakeholders for their contribution towards the designing, production, launch and issuance of Fiji’s new family of banknotes.

The Bank is also grateful to Reconnaissance International Limited for recognising Fiji’s banknotes for the best new banknote series award as this places Fiji’s currency amongst the best in the world.

The RBF is proud to be associated with contributing towards the preservation of natural biodiversity for future generations.

RESERVE BANK OF FIJI

From The Jet Newspaper

SCULPTURE OF BEATLES' ELEANOR RIGBY MADE FROM £ 1 MILLION POUND NOTES

East Yorkshire artist Leonard Brown has made a sculpture of The Beatles’ Eleanor Rigby out of £1m of old bank notes and is exhibiting her at Beverley Art Gallery - after taking inspiration from a woman he saw in Hull city centre. Faye Preston reports.

SHE is Britain’s most famous spinster, but thanks to a Hull artist she need never be lonely again. For Leonard Brown’s sculpture of Eleanor Rigby – made out of £1m of old banknotes – is attracting scores of Beatles-lovers and art-lovers from across the area.

Displayed at Beverley Art Gallery, Eleanor Rigby The Million Pound Bag Lady, is a bold statement about poverty and wealth and she is inspired not only by the genius songwriting of Sir Paul McCartney, but by a chance sighting of an elderly lady he saw hobbling hunchbacked through Hull’s city centre almost a year ago.

Leonard, 70, said: “I saw an old lady carrying all these bags in the city centre and I thought it would make a wonderful picture. It was so sad to see and it touched me. I thought about where she was going and what she was thinking.

“I went back and drew her and as I did I got thinking about the most famous bag lady there is – Eleanor Rigby. Every town has one, you see them everywhere you go. Old ladies with more bags than they can carry, dawdling along. I hope this speaks to everyone.”

Standing about 4ft tall, her cast is made from wire and wood and her chest cavity is stuffed with £300,000 of old bank notes alone. The rest of the dosh carefully tones her face with peach-coloured “tenners” as well as the darker creases of her coat and bags.

Alongside the sculpture read the words: “I cried because I had no shoes until I saw a man who had no feet.” It is a saying he was brought up with as a child in inner-city Liverpool and one he feels is more relevant today than ever before.

He said: “Everywhere you go people are crying about what they don’t have. This sculpture is a statement about wealth and poverty and the fact people want so much when they have so much already.”

It took Leonard months to convince the Bank of England to hand over the money. Not one to be fobbed off, he went straight to the top and called the Governor first. After being passed down the chain and proving his need for the cash was genuine, he finally bagged an appointment to pick up the notes.

“I can imagine the girl’s face when she hears this Scouser on the end of the phone asking for £1m,” said Leonard. Sitting in the grand foyer of the Bank of England, a security guard rolled out a trolly load of black bin liners stuffed with the notes – to the jaw-dropped expressions of onlookers.

“No one knew the money was shredded,” said Leonard. “Everyone was staring at me and I just pushed it out of the door and started loading up the boot of my car. I didn’t know how much a million pounds of shredded notes would be. It still makes me laugh thinking about it.”

Leonard has since sent photographs of Eleanor to the Bank of England, who replied telling him it was “absolutely fantastic”.

He is also waiting with crossed fingers for a response from Sir McCartney himself and dreams of her being displayed at the Tate Liverpool. But until then, Eleanor Rigby will take centre stage at Beverley’s gallery – and is already drawing in a crowd.

Nial Adams, museum manager, feels Eleanor is at home among the display of Fredrick Elwell’s works because both provide a type of social commentary.

He said: “This is a searing critique of modern Britain. It is a striking, interesting sculpture with a very serious idea behind it. Although the material is old, used bank notes, it is tactile and has warmth. It makes you want to give her a cuddle.”

Eleanor Rigby The Million Pound Bag Lady will be displayed until Thursday, October 17.

Paul McCartney's churchyard inspiration for Eleanor Rigby

RELEASED on August 5, 1966, Paul McCartney’s heartbreaking lyrics, “Eleanor Rigby died in the church and was buried along with her name; nobody came” strikes a chord that many may recognise as fear. To this day, scores of Beatles fans visit St Peter’s Church’s neat yard in the Liverpool district of Woolton where the real Eleanor Rigby lies.

She is now widely thought of to be the subconscious inspiration behind the song that spent four weeks at number one in the UK chart in 1966. Strangely, it was here John Lennon and Paul McCartney met for the first time.

It is a short distance from Lennon’s childhood home on Menlove Avenue and he would frequently play in the graveyard after singing in the choir. But though many people believe this is the song’s heroine’s final resting place, details about her life still remain scarce.

Original article from the Hull Daily Mail

US RELEASES NEW $100 BILL

From the BBC

The US Federal Reserve has issued a new hi-tech $100 banknote comprising several new security features.

It includes a blue 3D security ribbon and a bell and inkwell logo that authorities say are particularly difficult to replicate.

These combine with traditional security features, such as a portrait watermark and an embedded security thread that glows pink under ultraviolet light.

The 2010 design was delayed because of "unexpected production challenges".

The 3D security ribbon - which is woven into the note, not printed on it - features images of 100s that change into bells and move upwards or sideways depending on how you tilt the paper.

Referring to the embedded security thread Chadwick Wasilenkoff, chief executive of security paper company Fortress Paper, told the BBC: "It's not a small incremental step up for security, it's a giant leap."

Tilting also reveals a green bell within a copper-coloured inkwell to the right of the blue ribbon.

In addition, the 100 number in the bottom right-hand corner shifts from copper to green.

The redesigned banknote, which features a portrait of US founding father and scientist Benjamin Franklin, also includes raised "intaglio" printing that gives the notes a distinctive feel, and microprinted words that are difficult to read without magnification.

Forgeries

Over a decade of research and development has gone into the new note, the Fed said, in a joint project with the US Secret Service and the Department of the Treasury.

Advances in design software and high-resolution copying and printing have made it easier for counterfeiters to print fake money and harder for retailers to spot the forgeries.

US authorities say that $100 bill is the most counterfeited of all US banknotes, but accurate figures for the total value of counterfeit cash in circulation are hard to come by.

The US Secret Service estimates that counterfeit bills account for less than 0.01% of the $1.1 trillion (£683bn) of US money in circulation.

It says about $80.7m of counterfeit currency changed hands domestically in 2012, and about $14.5m abroad.

The authorities seized $9.7m in counterfeit cash before it could make it in to the US money supply, and seized $56.8m abroad in 2012.

Bruce Schneier, security expert at BT, told the BBC: "Bills have to be easy to produce cheaply and in large quantities by the government, yet hard to reproduce in small quantities by counterfeiters.

"Making something that costs less than a dollar to produce and over $100 to reproduce is a very difficult problem."

SOLOMON ISLANDS LAUNCHES THE FIRST DENOMINATION OF A NEW, UPGRADED BANKNOTE FAMILY

Honiara, 27 September 2013:

The Bank of Solomon Islands yesterday unveiled the new $50 banknote at an event attended by a number of VIPs including the Finance Minister Rick Hou. This is the first denomination of the new family to be launched; the rest of the new banknotes will be issued over the course of the next few years.
The new note uses strong images and bold colours to reflect the vibrancy of the islands.  On the front of the note, local basket weave designs are intended to represent the swirling movement of shoals of fish whilst indigenous fauna and flora - including an iguana, lizard and snake - are shown on the back.  The most prominent security feature is the Optiks™ super wide security thread with a transparent window.  The ingenuity of this feature was recently recognised when De La Rue received a Queen's Award for Enterprise: Innovation for this security thread and its associated paper making process.
In launching the new notes, the Governor Denton Rarawa acknowledged the continued support that the Central Bank of Solomon Islands has received from De La Rue during the development of this first note of the new family. "I appreciate the close working relationship between our 2 institutions which has assisted greatly in this project.  We look forward to future collaborations as we develop the rest of the new family of banknotes".
De La Rue's Sales Director Ruth Euling said "We are honoured that the Bank of Solomon Islands has continued to place its trust in us and are proud to be associated with the launch of the new $50 note".
Optiks™ is a trademark of De La Rue International Limited

Rob Hutchison
Group Director of Communications, De La Rue
Tel: +44 (0) 1256 605018
Email: rob.hutchison@uk.delarue.com

De La Rue 

PLASTIC POUNDS

Sep 14th 2013 

THE Bank of England is not known for presenting its research in shopping centres. Usually, its number-crunchers swap ideas with their wonkish counterparts in dingy rooms in Washington, DC or Frankfurt. But its latest project is different: for three years the Bank of England has been studying its banknotes. Now it wants to persuade the public that they should be made out of plastic.

Of Britain’s cash, broadly defined, only about 3% has any physical form (the rest is digital). Three billion notes are in circulation, with a face value of about £58 billion ($92 billion). On September 10th Chris Salmon, the bank’s chief cashier, said it wants to stop making certain notes from paper (actually derived from cotton and linen) and, from 2016, use polymer for the £5 and £10 notes.

In 2012, the Bank withdrew from circulation some 720,000 fake notes, with a face value of £13m. Australia, which uses polymer notes, has lower counterfeit rates than Britain.Over 20 countries already use such notes. They cost more to make but are better value (saving £100m, the Bank reckons). Paper money gets dirty and damaged quickly. The much-used £5 note typically lasts only nine months. Polymer notes can last six times as long. They can even go in the washing machine. They are also harder to forge. Mr Salmon proudly showed off a transparent window on a prototype tenner, which makes such notes hard to counterfeit. Merchants can more easily spot the absence of security features on clean notes.

Banks will need to change their cash machines. But the big worry is the public’s reaction to the smooth, springy feel of the new notes. Hence the shopping centres: the Old Lady will make over 30 presentations in such locations. Just don’t expect any giveaways.

from The Economist

MORE FROM BRAZIL

This is a new Brazilian note. Its a 2 Reais note from 2003 with the sculpture of the republic on the front right and Tartaruga Marhina Turtles on the reverse.

MORE FROM THAILAND

Here is another note from Thailand. This is the 100 Baht from 1994 with King Rama IX on the front and a statue of Kings Rama V and Rama VI from the Chulalongkorn University, on the reverse.

INDONESIA AGAIN

These notes are from Indonesia, thanks to my friends Gail and Andy for digging them out from their holiday fund !!

The first note is the 50,000 Rupiah note from 1999 with Wage Rudolf Soepratman, the man who wrote the Indonesian national anthem, on the front and the reverse has a picture of the Indonesian flag being raised.

the other note is the 1000 Rupiah note from 2000 with Kapitan Pattimura, on the front and boat on a lake on the reverse. The watermark is of Kjut Njak Dien a female leader of the guerilla forces in the Aceh war.

BELGIAN CONGO

The Belgian Congo, is today called the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and previous to being the Belgian Congo, the country was called the Congo Free State. The Belgian Congo excisted as a country from 1908 to 1960, when it gained independence to be called the Republic of Congo (leopoldville) and then Zaire. French Congo became the Republic of Congo (brazzaville) and then the Peoples Republic of Congo.

Monetary units: 1 franc = 100 Centimes (up to 1967)

This country was on my "to get" list and , although I've had it for a while, I had mis- classified it under Rwanda. It is a 1957, 10 Franc note and has a soldier on the front left and an antelope on the back.

so I can strike that one off the list !!!

CHIHUAHUA - REVOLUTIONARY MEXICO

The Free and Sovereign State of Chihuahua, is one of the 32 Federal entities of Mexico. Its capital city is Chihuahua.  In 1872, Porfirio Diaz took power in Mexico and ruled as a dictator over the next 4 decades. diaz undid lots of the Land reforms put in place to empower the small farmers and peasants which led to the Mexican Revolution  which threw up leaders such as "Pancho Villas", Zapata and Madero.

Monetary unit:  Peso

The 5 Peso Note above is from the State of Chihuahua is from 1914. This bank note was produced by Pacho Villa while he was governor of the state of Chihuahua and has two men who he admired on the front - Francisco Madero, 33rd president of Mexico and Abraham Gonzales, the previous governor of Chihuahua and Villa's political mentor.

THE DEATH MASK OF PANCHO VILLA

A FULL LIST OF THE NOTES I STILL HAVE TO LOCATE

Here is a full list of the countries missing from my collection. Most are really hard to come by or very expensive (usually both)

Andorra
Azores
Belgium Congo
British North Borneo

Dahomey (now called Benin)
Danish west indies
Danzig
Equatorial African states

French Antilles
French Guiana
French India
French Oceania
French Sudan

German new guinea

German south west Africa

Gilbert and ellice islands

Grenada

Hejaz

Isles of France and of Bourbon (now Reunion)

Italian east Africa (now Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia)

Italian Somaliland (now Somalia)

Katanga

Leeward islands

Madeira islands

Monaco

Netherlands new Guinea

Newfoundland

Palestine

Puerto rico

Reunion

Rhodesia and Nyasaland

Rwanda-burundi

Sarawak

South West Africa

Straits settlements

Tangier

Texas

Turks and Caicos Islands

Upper Senegal and Niger

Zanzibar

I'll update this list and the blog as I receive new notes. Countries in red have been found!!

AND FINALLY .....

... There is only one missing from this last section

Zanzibar (part of Tanzania) notes issued between 1908 and 1920

ZIMBABWE

The Republic of Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in southern Africa. Its Capital city is Harare. Rhodesia, under a minority white government declared UDI in 1965. In 1979 an unrecognised state existed as Zimbabwe-Rhodesia but after elections in 1980, which saw Robert Mugabe come to power, the name was changed to Zimbabwe. In 2008, hyperinflation at 11,200,000 % crippled the Zimbabwean dollar and the dollar was suspended in April 2009. The Us dollar, Euro, Sterling, South african Rand and Botswana Pula are all used as currency within Zimbabwe.

Monetary Units:

1 Dollar = 100 Cents (suspended in 2009)

The note above is a 100 Dollar note from 1995 with a picture of the balancing rocks at Chiremba on the front and the Kariba dam on the reverse.

 The notes above are both from 2008 in the period of Hyperinflation. The top one is an "agro cheque" for 100 Billion Dollars (Z$ 100, 000,000,000) and the one below is the Z$500,000 note with the balancing rocks on the front and palm trees and a milking byre  on the reverse.