In Other News…

• The Bank of Jamaica has unveiled the design of its new polymer series of banknotes, which will go into circulation next year.

The denomination structure remains unchanged with banknotes of $50, $100, $500, $1000 and $5,000, but with the addition of a new $2,000. The overall design is more modern (the designs of some of the notes in the current series date back to the 1980s), but the portraits are changing. The front of each denomination features two individuals, paired according to their contribution to Jamaica. The reverse of the notes will continue to feature the same Jamaican themes and scenes as the current series.

A distinctive feature of the new notes is the holographic stripe on each, viewable from either side of the note, featuring the same portraits, as well as a swallow tail hummingbird (Jamaica’s national bird) and the denomination.

They are being printed by De la Rue on SAFEGUARD. According to the Bank, the switch to polymer will extend the notes’ lifetime by 50%.

• The BEAC (Banque Centrale des Etats de l’Afrique Centrale) has now introduced its new series of banknotes, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of its foundation. The BEAC is the central bank for the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), which includes Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Chad, the Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea.

This is the first redesign in 20 years. According to the BEAC, the new notes are ‘more compact, more modern and more secure’. They also, for the first time, feature all the official languages of the community – French, English, Arabic and Spanish.

The notes are in denominations of 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 CFA. They were printed by the Banque de France (BdF) on its EverFit® composite substrate, which was produced at the Europafi paper subsidiary.

The notes feature two of BdF's security features – Sealgn@ture®, a high-density digital code co-developed with Advanced Track & Trace that enables verification with a smartphone, and Twin-UV®, a bright UV fluorescent level 2 feature co-developed with SICPA.

The three highest denominations also feature Oberthur Fiduciaire’s DualTrack™ security threads. The two lower denominations have an embedded thread.

The front of all five notes features an intaglio-printed image of the BEAC headquarters in Yaoundé, Cameroon, a geometric map of Africa, the CEMAC logo and a flower. The themes on the reverse of each note are based on agriculture, health, fauna and flora (protecting the environment) and education.

The new notes will co-circulate with their predecessors, with the latter gradually withdrawn from circulation.

• The Royal Canadian Mint has issued a new $2 circulation coin to honour the late Queen Elizabeth II’s service to Canada during her reign. It features the same design elements as the standard $2 coin and has the same metal composition but is distinguished by its black outer ring – reminiscent of a mourning armband – and dated 2022.

• Following the issue of new 10,000 and 20,000 kip banknotes in October, the Bank of Laos has now announced that new 50,000 and 100,000 kip notes will be issued shortly. The notes retain the same principal motifs but the design has been refreshed and the security upgraded.

• Bangladesh Bank has issued a commemorative 50 taka note celebrating the golden jubilees of the Constitution and the Supreme Court.

The front shows an image of Mujibur Rahman, the ‘Father of the Nation’ and the Parliament building. On the back is the Supreme Court building.

• The Bank of Ghana has upgraded the 1 cedi coin with new security features, which entered circulation this month.

The upgraded coin is bimetallic, with an outer gold ring and inner silver core. It also has a distinct serrated edge, recognisable by touch. The design of the coin is much the same, but the reverse now features a latent image, which changes from a radiating star to the denomination symbol between two stars when tilted.

The Bank has said that the existing and new upgraded coins will co-circulate until the existing coin is gradually withdrawn.

• The Central Bank of the UAE has unveiled a new polymer 1,000 dirham (AED) banknote. It follows the issues of 5 and 10 dirham notes earlier this year, and a 50 dirham last December – all of which are printed on De La Rue’s SAFEGUARD® polymer – and has been printed by Oumolat Security Printing in Abu Dhabi.

The front of the new banknote depicts the image of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, next to a model of a space shuttle, denoting his passion for the UAE to becoming a pioneer in space exploration, an ambition that was realised in the Emirates Mars Mission ‘Hope Probe’ journey in 2021. The reverse of the note depicts the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant.

The main security feature is a partially metallized KINEGRAM COLORS® foil stripe from KURZ depicting an astronaut. A separate window features a portrait of the Sheik. In addition, the numeral is printed with SICPA’s SPARK Flow® DIMENSION, which changes colour from gold-to-green.

The new AED 1,000 will be available via central bank branches and ATMs in the first half of 2023.

• The Central Bank of Bahamas has released an upgraded $10, the third version of the note since 2016. While the design is the same as its predecessor, issued in 2018, it includes a colour change to predominantly grey to better distinguish it from the CRISP Evolution $1 banknote released in 2017.

The substrate has changed, too, from paper to Landqart’s composite substrate DURASAFE®; bringing it into line with the new $50 and $100 banknotes. As with the $50, and the previous $10, it incorporates Crane Currency’s RAPID® HD Detect security thread alongside other newly embedded security features.

• The Central Bank of Barbados has now issued its new polymer banknote series, produced by De La Rue on SAFEGUARD. The currency is denominated in 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 Barbados dollars. The new designs retain the key motifs of the previous series, but have a vertical rather than horizontal layout, larger portraits and a cleaner, more modern look.

The security features include the highly reflective ARGENTUM™ on the three lower denominations, and a holographic stripe with depth effects which are visible on both sides of the note on the three highest denominations.

All notes feature GEMINI™, a print feature that reveals itself under light, and embossed tactile marks for the visually-impaired.

The reverse of the series is brought together by a satellite image of the island of Barbados being printed in part on each banknote. This forms a complete image across all six denominations when the notes are placed together, the outline of which glows when placed under UV light.