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,
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
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