What would have happened if the Cold War had turned into a Hot War and the armed forces of the Warsaw Pact would have steamrolled into Western Europe? More precisely and on-topic: what kind of banknotes would I have used living in the Netherlands?
I love to ponder these 'what if'-questions, to explore the road not taken. Luckily sometimes we get a glimpse of that alternative universe. The Narodowy Bank Polski (National Bank of Poland) has for the first time made public what banknotes would've been in our pockets if countries like Denmark, the Netherlands and West-Germany would have been captured by the Warsaw Pact. Surprisingly they would have been Polish!
"Codenamed E-17, the crisp notes were issued in the 1970s and kept locked in chests deep in the bowels of Poland’s central bank. They were classified as top secret until 2015. (...) Emblazoned with the skylines of several Polish cities, the notes range in value from one to 2,000 zloty and will be on public display at the national mint in Warsaw as of next year."
I am very glad these events haven't come to pass... But then again, from a historical and numismatical perspective, how cool are these notes?!
The Banco de la República in Colombia has announced that from 19 August 2016 the new banknote of 50,000-pesos will be issued. The new note has the image of Colombia writer Gabriel García Márquez on it. Two images in fact: one close-up and one standing with butterflies. The back shows two standing native people, Ciudad Perdida (an ancient city in Colombia's Sierra Nevada) and a nautilus shell.
This is a note I was really looking forward to. The final design however is somewhat disappointing to be honest. It feels a bit empty. With all the themes in Márquez' books I think the banknote could've been much more interesting. It feels a little unfinished now.
The Bank of Thailand has issued a press release announcing a new commemorative banknote. Thailand has A LOT of commemorative notes already but I'm not complaining as I am quite a fan of their banknote design. And this is another beauty.
This 500-baht banknote commemorates the 7th cycle birthday anniversary of Queen Sirikit of Thailand (12 August 1932). From the press release:
"The color, size, and the image on the front side of this 500-Baht commemorative banknote are identical to the 16th series of 500-Baht banknote.
The main element on the reverse side depicts the portrait of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit in Thai Boromphiman costume. Other elements include the Royal family image, Her Majesty with the Royal Folk Arts and Crafts Center products, the Royal Emblem, Khon performance, Lygodium products, and the flowers named after Her Majesty, which are Queen Sirikit Cattleya and Queen Sirikit Rose.
The special feature for this 500-Baht commemorative banknote is located on the reverse side. The radial pattern behind the portrait of Her Majesty and Queen Sirikit Rose will illuminate yellow when viewing [sic] under ultraviolet light."
Exactly 20 million pieces of the new note will be issued on 11 August 2016.
Morocco is preparing to (re)introduce the Amazigh language of the Berber people on al its official banknotes. This includes all banknotes. The Amazigh language was banned in favor of the Arabic language in 1984 by King Hassan II. His son, King Mohammmed VI, is slowly changing some of the old laws in Morocco.
The Berber language is spoken in North Africa, mainly Morocco, Algeria, Libya, northern Mali and northern Niger. There are also smaller Berber-speaking populations in Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Egypt and Mauritania, and Berber-speaking Moroccan and Algerian immigrants of about 2 million in: France, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Italy, Canada and USA.
The Central Bank of Liberia has released a statement announcing a new family of banknotes. This new family will be issued "shortly". All the portraits have been kept the same but the security features have been improved. Also, the new series will be printed on a new substrate. Last, a new denomination of 500 dollars will be introduced.
Here are some first pictures:
The Banco Central de Sao Tome e Principe has plans to redenominate its national currency of the dobra. This move would result in banknotes with three zeros less. According to the constitution such a decision would have to be approved by the National Assembly and they haven't dicussed it yet. The printing process however has supposedly already started.
More details of the Swiss 100-francs note which is due for 2019 have been revealed. The theme for this note will be 'Water' and the main color of the note will, of course, be blue.
According to this article from TheLocal.ch the note will feature two hands holding water. Another striking design element will be an image of the historic bisse d’Ayent, an irrigation channel unique to the canton of Valais. "The channel, built in 1442, connects the villages of Ayent and Grimisuat above the ski resort of Crans Montana and is a particularly impressive example of a bisse. Dating back centuries, the bisses were constructed to irrigate pastures at altitude in the Valais and as such, many follow spectacular routes, taking the water along hanging wooden structures tacked on to the sheer rock walls with a vertiginous drop below. Many have been restored and are now popular hiking routes."
Recently the new 50-francs note was issued as first banknote of the new series. The next banknote will be the 20-francs note due for spring 2017 with the theme of 'Light'.
The National Bank of Argentina has issued the first note of the new flora and fauna series to the public. The issue date of the 500-pesos note is 29 June 2016.
In this series Argentina has removed the images of national heroes and replaced them with images of animals and the habitat they live in. In the case of the 500-pesos note we see a jaguar on the front and the northeast region of Argentina on the back.
In the 4th quarter of 2016 we can expect the new 200-pesos note.
The European Central Bank has unveiled the design for its new 50-euro banknote. This 4th note in the new Europa series has the same color scheme as the old note and also keeps the renaissance themed bridge. The new 50-euro note will be issued to the public from 4 April 2017.
For some reason this new note feels like less of a change than with the new 20-euro note. Perhaps because I've grown accustomed to the new security features of the Europa series.
The Bank of Mauritius has announced it will issue a new series of banknotes in the second half of 2017. From the press release:
The Bank of Mauritius has issued four families of banknotes since 1967. The fourth and last family of banknotes was issued as from 1 July 1999 in seven denominations – namely, Rs25, Rs50, Rs100, Rs200, Rs500, Rs1,000 (issued as from 24 August 1999) and Rs2,000. Polymer banknotes were issued in three denominations of Rs25, Rs50, and Rs500 in August 2013.
Although the Bank of Mauritius introduced new security features and improved the quality of the banknotes, the designs of banknotes have remained the same since 1999. The banknotes were designed to show on the front the portrait of a political personality and, on the back, a particular landmark or landscape.
After seventeen years, the Bank of Mauritius considers it high time for a new family of banknotes, the more so in a world where technological innovations have facilitated counterfeiting.
Following the Governor’s consultations with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, it has been decided that portraits of personalities will be replaced with illustrative elements that may include our country’s national heritage, history, culture, endemic species of the Mauritian flora and fauna, and distinctive landscapes.
Update 22-7-2016: According to this news article the new familiy of banknotes has been postponed due to heavy criticism for its high cost.
Of course I couldn't wait long to add this beauty to my collection of Thai commemorative notes. So today I received the new 70-baht from Thailand.
The Banco de la República in Colombia has announced that the new 20,000-pesos banknote will be issued from 30 June 2016. As previously announced the new note will feature former president Alfonso López Michelsen, with canales de La Mojana, and a "sombrero vueltiao" which is a traditional hat.
The next banknote in the new series will be the 50,000-pesos note which will be issued in Q3 of 2016 and will feature writer Gabriel García Márquez, with "Ciudad Perdida" on the back.
The European Central Bank has officially confirmed that a new 50-euro banknote will be issued in Q2 of 2017. The new note is the 4th new issue in the Europa series after the new 5-, 10- and 20-euro notes. The design of the new note will be unveiled on 5 July 2016.
The 50-euro banknote is the most widely used of all euro banknote denominations. More than 8 billion banknotes in circulation are 50-euro banknotes, representing about 45% of the total.
The Central Bank of Nepal (Nepal Rastra Bank, NRB) has issued a new 100-rupees note on 13 June 2016. It has a new feature, a raised black dot, with allows visually impaired people to recognize the note. Another change from the old note is that now there are two rhinos on the back instead of one: a mother and a calf. This is the first banknote bearing the signature of new NRB Governor Chiranjeevi Nepal (since 22 March 2015).
The NRB has also stated that they're planning a new 1,000-rupees note with an image of two elephants on it.
Image and information courtesy of Shankar Shrestha of www.nuphil.com
Recently I wrote a piece about several of my hobbies (in no particular order: banknotes, fountain pens and tea) and how I like it when somehow these hobbies can be combined. In that piece I showed several banknotes with tea themes on it but I also wrote about not being able to find any banknotes with fountain pens on it.
Well...
Celsus Solar of Mujand, famous for the fantasy banknote series of the imaginary planet Blissdane Naïve and the more recent series of Dutch colonies (you can read all the reviews of these different sets here), has risen to the challenge and surprised me with a great personal gift. I received a set of these fantastic notes celebrating the beauty of one of the top brands in the fountain pen world: Mont Blanc.
I love the fact that different facets of the fountain pen can be seen: the filling mechanism, the nib unit and also some beautiful exemples of calligraphy. And of course: how cool is it to own a note with your name on it? 
Just for the record: these notes aren't anywhere for sale but do they do show the craftsmanship of Celsus Solar of Mujand. His commercially available sets can be viewed here. These sets from Mujand are sold excusively by Yuri111 and fantasy_notes_and_more on eBay.
Disclaimer: these fantasy notes were provided for review purposes. The text is entirely mine and was not paid for or asked for in any way.
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