October Postings 2014

1 October 2014
Falkland Islands - Here I have added the new 2011 £20 to my previous £10 note posting, both printed with the date of 1.1.2011. These new notes were ordered in August 2010, of which 200,000 pieces of each denomination were printed by De La Rue Currency, traditionally the security printing firm for the Government of Falkland Islands bank notes. The total costs for the reprints was £157,776 (£0.39p per note) plus delivery charges etc. Two other printing firms were also considered at the time of the re ordering due to high cost quoted by DLR, but have decided to stay with DLR. Falkland Islands has a rather small population and for that reason, these 2011 notes printed are expected to last at least 15 years or more. The designs (Front: QELL, King Penguins, Sea Lions, Map of Falkland Islands; Reverse: Governor House, Christchurch Cathedral) of the notes are similar to previous issues but with added security features, such as the cornerstone(TM) and "F" watermark. These designs were first used in 1983. These notes bear the facsimile signatures of the Currency Commissioners of Falkland Islands - Keith Padgett, Moira C Eccles and L M Lyse. Previous £10 and £20 were signed by the sole Currency Commissioner Harold Rowlands. The £5 note was not included in this reprint as at the time of the re order, the Treasury has sufficient stock for this denomination to last for local demands for another 10 years or more and so does the £50 notes too. The series of these two notes commenced with prefix letter "B" with serial numbering ranging from B 000001 to B 200000. The Falkland Islands Pound is pegged to the British Pound Sterling and also can be used on the islands too.

3 October 2014
Saint Helena - These are two reprints of the 2004 issues of £10 and £20. The designs are the same and these new notes are printed with a new date of 2012 and with new signatures too. The serial numbers for the £10 note commenced from P/1 400001 and A/1 150001 for the £20 note. It is believes that these two notes were released recently in 2014. Judging by the serial numbers of the last two previous issues, it looks like 100,000 pieces were printed for the £10 and 50,000 pieces for the £20 denomination. Saint Helena is a British Overseas Territory and has a very small population of less than 5,000, and any notes printed for a given series/year will tend to last for a very long time, and as such it is not surprised that it took so long for reprints/new notes to be reordered and issued. It is also believed that no notes of any denomination has ever been printed/issued with more than one letter/digit prefix, or even printed in full of a maximum of 1.0 million pieces on a single issue. The Saint Helena pound is also used in the Ascension Island, population 880+/-. The Ascension Island is located approximately 700 miles (1126.50 Kilometers) northeast of Saint Helena. The facsimile signatures on the notes are:- Andrew Wells, Paul Blessington, Anthony Kilner and Gillian Francis. Until the new commercial airport is completed and  opened in 2016, Saint Helena is still one of the most remote islands in the world. The locals are known as the Saints.

7 October 2014
Croatia - 20 Kuna 2014 Commemorative. This is a commemorative issue to celebrate the country's 20th anniversary of issuing Croatian currency (Kuna) by the central bank, Hrvatska Narodna Banka (Croatian National Bank). The bank was established in December 1990 following the break up of Yugoslavia. The bank initial adopted the Dinar currency between 1990 to 1993. In 1994, it changed the currency from Dinar to Kuna and issued it''s first Kuna on 30.05.1994. The Kuna, in Croatian meaning Marten, is subdivided into 100 Lipa (meaning lime tree). This is a folder issued which also include the 10 Kuna commemorative issued in 2004 celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Kuna currency. The design of this commemorative note is almost the same as the current 20 Kuna in circulation  except that it has the the denomination value of 20 added to the watermark area on the left hand side of the note, just like the previous 10 Kuna 2004 commemorative issue. This note was issued on 30.05.2014, in a folder commemorative format of 2 notes as well as in singles circulating notes.

10 October 2014
Australia - Posted here are two $10 vertical Polymer uncut pair with date of (ND)1997. The uncut sheets were issued in both Premium (Red) and Deluxe (Blue) serial numbers. The initial issue prices were $95 for the Premium set and $65 for the Deluxe set with quantities of 1,000 and 1,600 folders respectively. In addition to these, block of 4 were also released for both sets. These notes bear the facsimile signatures of Ian Macfarlane and Ted Evans.

12 October 2014
Scotland, The Royal Bank of Scotland - This is the latest £10 note dated 2010 issued with the signature of the bank's CEO Steven Hester. As Steven Hester is no longer the bank's Group Chief Executive, it is not sure if this is the last note bears his signature or if there are still more to come. To date, Steven Hester's signature has appeared on the £5 (2008 & 2010), £10 (2012 Commemorative, and this note) and £20 (2010 & 2012). We have not sighted if the £50 or even the £100 have been printed with his signature on it. I suppose only the bank staff or the printer can answer that, unless any visitors here have inside information. Steven Hester has since been replaced by Ross Maxwell McEwan, who is originally from New Zealand.

18 October 2014
Samoa - Here, I have added the latest Samoa 50 Tala of 2012 issue to my previous post. In 2012, a reprint of all denominations were released with new signatures of Faumuina Tiatia Faaolatane Liuga and Maiava Atalina Ainuu-Enari. At the time of the release, the 50 Tala was issued as a commemorative note with the overprint logo celebrating the country 50th year of Independence. The value of 10 Tala note reprint was not included in this release. This new 50 Tala posted here does not have the commemorative text/logo on the note. The main design remains the same as previous issue but with minor chances to the bottom edges on both side of the note and it's remains a Hybrid note, just like the 100 Tala denomination. It is not sure if the 10 Tala was also printed. Click here to view just the two Hybrid notes or here to view all 2012 reprints.

25 October 2014
Uruguay - Posted here is a full set of "A" series notes (9 pieces) printed with year date between 1989 to 1992 from 1,000 to 500,000 Neuvos Pesos. This set was issued in a presentation folder which also included 3 unissued notes of 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 Neuvos Pesos. These 3 notes are all printed with two large words in red "NO EMITIDO" on the front, which means unissued in Spanish. These are hyper inflation notes and it was later replaced in 1994 following the country's currency reform by removing 3 zeros from the currency value ie 1,000 Neuvos Pesos = 1 Peso Uruguayo. Almost all independence nations in the South America had gone through an economy and currency crises at least once during the 80s and 90s due to hyper inflation and forced to adopt a major currency reform to fix the economy. The 500,000 Neuvos Pesos was the largest currency ever issued in the history of Uruguay.

28 October 2014
Nicaragua - A fifty Cordobas banknote with A/1 prefix. The note is printed with the main violet colour. It has the design of the National Ceramic of Nicaragua on the front and the Canyon of Somoto on the back. The note has the watermark of National ceramic of Nicaragua, "50" watermark and this note was issued on 3.12.2009.