Awards for Best in Latin American and Caribbean Banknotes

The prestigious Regional Banknote and ID Document of the Year Awards form part of the industry’s annual High Security Printing™ (HSP) Latin America conference.

Awards were made in two categories for the banknote awards this year – Best New Banknote and Best New Series – with Argentina, Barbados and Guyana all receiving recognition.

Best New Banknote – Joint

The Central Bank of the Republic of Argentina is currently replacing the images of flora and fauna on its existing notes, introduced in 2016, with national heroes. The new 1,000 pesos, which goes into circulation shortly, features one of its best known historical statesmen, José de San Martín, who played a major role in winning independence from Spain and bringing freedom to his native Argentina in 1812 (and is often referred to as the Homeland Father). He also won independence for Chile (1818) and Peru (1821).

The key security features of the new note are a 4mm wide RollingStar® i+ thread (the latest iteration of Louisenthal's micro-mirrors technology) on the front, and SICPA’s SPARK Flow®. The thread features the Flame effect, representative of the votive flame which evokes the spirit of José de San Martín, and BRCA is incorporated as Cleartext, along with magnetic properties for machine readability. The SPARK feature is also in the shape of the votive flame. The colour shift of both are a matching gold-to-green.

Joint winner of the Best New Banknote was the Bank of Guyana for its upgraded $5,000, issued in December 2022.

Although the same design as its predecessor, the previous DualTrack™ thread on the reverse, and holographic stripe on the front have been replaced with and a 5mm wide Pulsar™ thread from Oberthur Fiduciaire. The note also benefits from the addition of a SPARK® Live Truspin image in the shape of a jaguar (Guyana’s national animal). The colour shift in both the SPARK feature and the thread are a synchronised gold-to-green.

This is the first circulating note to feature the Pulsar colorshift thread, which was launched last year, and combines two colours with micro-optics to create dynamic movement, and optical effects.

Best New Series

The Central Bank of Barbados was awarded the Best New Series prize for its new family of polymer banknotes introduced in 2022.

The notes, in denominations of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 Barbados dollars, were designed and printed by De La Rue on its SAFEGUARD polymer substrate. They 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.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Concluding the awards ceremony, a special Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Harald Klint, of Colombian security agency Imaprok, and among the best-known figures in the industry, particularly in the region.

Harald, aged 86, is probably the oldest person currently working in the security printing and minting community. He set up Imaprok nearly 30 years ago, and in that time it has represented many European companies in Latin America. He has also been a proud participant in every HSP Latin America event since its inception in Rio de Janeiro in 2012.

Harald Klint (left) together with Martyn White (right), Chairman of Reconnaissance International.