Awards Recognise Outstanding Design and Innovation in Latin American Banknotes

Special awards have been made to a number of newly introduced banknotes that have demonstrated outstanding technical sophistication and excellence in design and security.

The prestigious Regional Banknote and ID Document of the Year Awards form part of the industry’s High Security Printing (HSP) Latin America conference which, after an absence of nearly three years, returned with a swing to Mexico City this month.

Best New Banknote Series

Joint winners of the Best New Banknote Series were the Central Bank of the Bahamas and the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.

In October 2021, the Central Bank of the Bahamas released its new $100 banknote, completing the roll-out of its CRISP (Counterfeit Resistant Integrated Security Product) Evolution series which it began back in 2016.

The new series is – as the name suggests – an evolution of the original CRISP series first introduced in 2005, and is remarkable both for incorporating a broad cross-section of substrates, printers (including Orell Füssli, Crane Currency, De La Rue, Giesecke+Devrient and Canadian Bank Note) and features, and for its introduction of multiple firsts for feature-substrate pairings.

In March 2021, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) issued its new $5 polymer banknote, completing the transition of the Eastern Caribbean dollar to De La Rue’s SAFEGUARD polymer that began in 2019. According to the ECCB, the reasons for the transition were threefold – the environment, cost, and security.

Key to the ECCB’s decision to switch to polymer was the environment, according to its Governor, Timothy Antoine. The switch will also save on costs and allowed for the incorporation of advanced new security features.

The notes have been changed to a vertical orientation but remain the same size and dimensions – all uniform regardless of denomination. The colour scheme of the previous series has also been retained to aid public recognition and acceptance of the new notes, as have many of the design features, albeit that they have a much fresher and more modern appearance, helped by the portrait orientation.

They also incorporate a unique tactile emboss feature to aid recognition by the blind and visually impaired.

Best New Banknotes

The winner of the Best New Banknote was the Banco de México for not one but two notes – the new 50 and 100 pesos. The former – the sixth and final note in the new G series, was issued last November. It is produced on CCL Secure’s GUARDIAN™ polymer, along with the 100 pesos, issued the previous year, and the 20 pesos, also issued in 2021, which is a commemorative note celebrating the country’s bicentennial.

Both the 50 and the 100 are in a vertical orientation, front and back. Each incorporates a large complex transparent window that feature G-SWITCH™ and METALIX™ inks. The former changes colour from blue to gold when tilted. The latter is copper-coloured. They also incorporate an integrated magnetic thread and SPARK® Live denoting the denomination numeral.

Best New Commemorative Banknotes

2021 was a landmark year for the region, with several countries celebrating their bicentennials, and issuing commemorative notes to mark the occasion. Because of the preponderance of such notes, and the high quality of these, two awards were made for Best New Commemorative Banknote.

One is the 200 lempira commemorative note issued last September by the Central Bank of Honduras.

The 200 lempira note is the first in the world to feature a registered Galaxy® thread with different and precisely positioned windows. When tilting the banknote, a change can be observed in the upper and lower windows from a bell, to 200, and vice versa. The middle window incorporates an image of a parchment and quill, and all three windows contain a dynamic circle that seems to move beneath the surface.

The other is the 20 quetzales, which is the first ever commemorative note to be issued by the Bank of Guatemala.

The note is vertically oriented on the front with themes relating to the country’s independence, and in a landscape format on the back. The main overt security feature is a 5mm wide Galaxy thread with a double effect.

Both notes were produced by Giesecke+Devrient, and the thread and paper by Louisenthal.

The awards were announced at a special ceremony during the HSP Latin America conference dinner on 15 March.