November Postings 2023

November

 

1st November 2023

Kyrgyzstan - A set of three commemorative notes - 200, 500 and 1000 som, issued on 10.05.2023 celebrating the country's 30th Year of National Currency 1993 -2023. This is the fifth series of banknotes issued since its first series released in 1993, following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, and independence was declared on 31.08.1991. The date of these releases was exactly 30 years from the first series of banknotes issued in 1993.

4th November 2023 (Happy Birthday My Son)

Fiji - This is a 100 cents legal tender numismatic commemorative polymer note issued on 08.08.2023. This note was presumably issued, in a joint venture between Shenzhen China Coin Investment Co Limited and the Reserve Bank of Fiji, to celebrate the Year of the Dragon (10.02.2024 to 28.01.2025). As this is a numismatic item and issued with a high premium, it is unlikely you will ever see them in general circulation, just like the previous 88 cents note issued on 08.08.2022.

11th November 2023 (105th anniversary of what?)

Liberia - Here is a full set of five notes with the denomination of $20, $50, $100, $500 and $1000. These notes were all released on 06.10.2022. This series started in 2021, when a $100 was released in December 2021. I have posted all the six notes here.

16th November 2023

Laos - I have this 1974 full set of banknotes for quite a while now and have decided to post them here today. This is a set of five notes, released in 1974 before the current communist government took over the country in 1975. Both the 10 and 1000 kip were not released (unissued) back in 1974. Some of these two unissued notes then found their ways into the collector's market and as expected, it was selling very expensive in the 90s. My old 1998 SCWPM had listed these two notes of 10 and 1000 kip with catalogue price of $600 and $800 in uncirculated condition. Today, you can get them at a very affordable price.

18th November 2023

Pakistan - I have added two scans of the 75 rupees commemorative notes of 2022 with the prefixes of AAB and NFT. The AAB note serial number on the bottom left does not glow under UV light, despite what it has been claimed by certain websites, and I have no idea what the NFT prefix is representing.

25th November 2023

Hong Kong, HongKong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited - Four banknotes all printed with the dates of 01.01.2020. These are the first reprints of the 2018 series. The four notes are $20, $50, $500 and $1000. The $100 note was not issued for this given year. The designs are the same as the 2018 series, but with new dates.  

December Posings 2013

**********************************************************************************

Seasons Greetings and a Merry Christmas to everyone. Enjoy the holidays and be safe too.

**********************************************************************************

1 December 2013 - Northern Ireland Bank of Ireland - A full set of new notes issued by one of the four major banks in Northern Ireland, Bank of Ireland. The four notes issued are the £5, £10, £20 and £50. The designs of these notes are very similar to those commemorative notes issued in 2008 celebrating 400th Year of Granting License of Old Bushmills Distillery, but this time it also includes the £50 denomination note. All notes have the same design on both front and back and all notes are dated 1st January 2013. Unlike the 2008 issues, all notes are also signed by Stephen Matchett who is the Bank's current Chief Financial Officer.


3 December 2013 - Mauritania 100 Ouguiya 2011 Hybrid Note. This is a reprint of the previous 2008 dated issue. Whilst this is a reprint with new date and new signatures, there are few changes to this note as compared to previous note. The most noticeable changes are: -

1) The watermark is the same but with the number "100" added;
2) Serial number on the note is printed twice instead of 3 times;
3) The colour on the guilloche with latent image on the left edge changed from yellowish to purple;
4) Three large vertical Arabic number of٦٠٦   is added on the right of the note. Unfortunately the number (606) is not showing on my scan;
5) The silver security thread is partially exposed;
6) The font for the signatures authority is not the same (slightly larger/longer);
7) On the back, the wording "CENT OUGUIYA" and the numeral numbers of both "100" are also not the same;
8) The number of "100" on the lower right has been redesigned and shifted closer to the bottom edge.
I have also posted the 2008 note for comparison.

6 December 2013 - Lebanon 50,000 Livres (LL) Polymer Commemorative. This is Lebanon first polymer note issued on 22.11.2013 to celebrate the country's 70th year of independence from the French. Lebanon declared its independence in 1943 whilst the French were still under Nazi occupation. The design of this note, with one side is in Arabic and the other side is in French. To the locals, this note raised a fair bit of controversial including the design of the note. By examining the note on hand, I can understand how the locals felt. Some locals even said that the note looks more like a 70 Livres than a 50,000 Livres value. In addition to this, it also has a spelling error with the text where the word 'Independence'' is spelled in English rather than in French (Independance). Despite the minor error, but still significant to the locals, the central bank decided to release the note for this special occasion celebration. This is a limited edition issue of 50,000 notes, with two prefixes printed ie normal D/00 and replacement prefix of D/99. It appears that all notes have been sold out on the day of release. It is believed that the bulk of these notes will ended up in collector hands as collectable souvenir.

8 December 2013 - Australia 1994 Annual Portfolio issue. This is the second of the Portfolio series with two of the $20 notes (last paper 1993 and first polymer 1994) issued in a hard cover folder with matching serial numbers. Both numbers are also printed in red. This is the only paper Australia $20 paper banknote that printed with 2 letters prefix as all normal paper notes were printed with 3 letters prefix since 1966. The serial numbers range printed are from AA94 000 101 to AA94 001 000. However only 900 sets were released at $350 per set. The remaining 100 sets were retained by the central bank.

11 December 2013 - Australia Annual Premium Sets with Matching Red Serial Numbers with "AA94" first prefix in red. Only 1000 sets printed with 900 sets released to the public. The remaining 100 sets were retained by NPA for their archive purposes. One will wonder if these will ever be released to the public. If they do, it will be very expensive and most likely will be offered via public auction, which is a pity as many collectors will never be able to get them unless you are willing to pay high price from them. Let's hope that they will remain archived as long as they can. 

15 December 2013 - Argentina 100 Pesos Eva Peron B Series Commemorative. This is the reprint of the 2012 Eva Duarte de Peron note which was released on 21.09.2012 commemorating the 60th anniversary of the death of Eva Peron. This B series print has some minor changes in design to the note, both front and back. The most noticeable on the front is that the little flower design on the left has shifted away from the edge and some minor changes on the back too, including the value "100" on the middle of the edge to the top left hand corner of the note. This note was released on 2.7.2013.

20 December 2013 - Papua New Guinea  2 and 100 Kina Commemorative ND2013. These two notes were released on 4.11.2013, celebrating the country's central bank's 40th anniversary. Unlike those paper/hybrid commemorative notes issued in 2008, these new notes are printed on polymer. The design of these new notes are the same as those previously issued but with difference commemorative logo added to the note. Also interesting is that the prefix of these notes are printed with normal 2-letter alphabet and then followed by the 2 digits "40" (40th Anniversary).

21 December 2013 - Indonesia 2013 annual set. This is the last of the series of Indonesia banknotes printed with high value denominations in "Thousand". Come January 1st, 2014, many billionaires and millionaires in the country will come crashing down to planet earth and join among (almost) with the rest of the world but without the title "aires" to their names. From 1.1.2014, Indonesia will release new banknotes with new denominations by removing three zeros from the current series. This means that the denomination of notes to be issued are from 2 to 100 Rupiah instead of 2,000 to 100,000 Rupiah. I am wondering what sort of impact and confusion will have on such changes?

22 December 2013 - Malaysia One Ringgit (DF Prefix) variety print. This is the new variety printed for the RM1 polymer 2012 note. I have posted the comparison between the two notes. The prefixes of these notes posted are "DD" and "DF". It is not sure if "DE" prefix has been issued or if prefix "DE", if printed, was from the first print or the revised issue. The difference between these two notes are that white diagonal lines have been added to the bank's name and as well as the value "1" on top of the note; and also on the tiny horizontal bar and the value in word "Ringgit Malaysia" at the bottom. It appears that the design on the back remains unchanged.

25 December 2013 - Australia 1997 Annual Premium Set with red serial numbers. This is the first full set of banknotes printed with red serial numbers. A total of 1000 sets were printed but only 900 sets were released to the public. The remaining 100 sets were retained by the bank's archives. These Premium sets were either sold individually or as a full set with individual selling price as $5 ($50), $10 ($65), $20 ($85), $50 ($115) and $100 ($165) or full set at $480.

Premium set - 900 sets at $480 each; and
Deluxe set - 4000 full sets at $263 each.

Like the Premium sets, the deluxe sets were also sold either as individually or as full set, however the quantity issued were not the same for each denominations with quantities issued as follows: $5 (9,000), $10 (8,000), $20 (6,000), $50 (4,000) and $100 (4,000). As you can see, only 4,000 full sets were printed for the deluxe prints.

28 December 2013 - Malaysia One Ringgit 2000 seres. I have updated the RM1 first issued in 2000. Posted here are 8 notes, all signed by Governor Zeti Aziz. The notes posted here are the first prefix of AA, double letter last prefix of ZV, then triple A prefix and the final last prefix of AGP before the release of the current RM1 polymer series. In between the fonts size of the letter prefix also changed between ABX to ADT before it reverted back to the original font size. Common consencsus is that ZV is not a replacement prefix. Well, I don't have a clue. If they all said it's not, then it's not, right? Case closed.


29 December 2013 - Malaysia 5 Ringgit 2004 Polymer Update. Here are the complete first and last prefixes of notes printed by two difference imprinters known to collectors. The series was first introduced in 2004. It is not sure when the second print was released to the public, but it is believed that it was either in 2010 or 2011. Also it is not clear if the switched in printer has anything to do with the NPA bribery scandal which was first exposed in the Australian media in mid-2009. The ZA replacement note came from the second printer, as NPA never print such prefix (replacement) for all their polymer printing works.

November Postings 2013

1 November 2013 - Australia 1993 Portfolio Folder issue -Paper and Polymer Notes with Matching Red Serial Numbers. This is the first of the limited issued edition of the 1993 Portfolio set to commemorate the release of Australia first $10 polymer note. The hard cover folder comprises of 2 notes, one paper from the last print (1991) and the first issue of the polymer $10 note. The different between this issue and all other issues is that both notes have matching red serial numbers and also this is the only $10 paper note ever printed with 2-letter prefix and is in red colour. All previous paper notes were printed with 3-letter prefix. The polymer note for this issue is also printed with the first day of release of the $10 note - "1 November 1993". As this is a very limited issue, with 1000 sets printed but only 900 folders were offered to the public at $295 per set. Despite low mintage, this issue is neither rare or scarce and still plenty around. You will find of them selling, you might even get them below issue price in most cases.

2 November 2013 - Denmark 2009 Bridge series. This is the latest issue of the 2009 Bridges series bearing the new Governor signature of Lars Rohde (and Lars Sorensen), and it appears that this is the first denomination issued bearing his signature. Going forward we would expect to see other denominations with his signature. Apart from this, I have also updated two other Bridge series notes, being the  DKK100 and DKK200 signed by Hugo Frey Jensen (full set) and Per Callesen respectively. To date I am still missing the 1000 DKK note signed by Jens Thomsen (1995-2010) and 100DKK signed by Per Callesen. I am just wondering if these two notes were also printed. If you are a keen Danish banknotes collector, listed below is a simple table that I have put together showing all the Bridge series notes released (or sighted) since 2009 with respective signature varieties.

Bridge Series Signatures since 2009 NB 50 100 200 500 1000 TN 50 100 200 500 1000 JT 50 100 200 500 X PC 50 X 200 500 1000 HFJ 50 100 200 500 1000 LR X 100 X X X X = Missing/Not Issued (yet) NB = Nils Bernstein 2005-2013 (full set) TN = Torben Nielsen 1996-2011 (full set) JT = Jens Thomsen 1995-2010 (missing 1000 DKK) PC = Per Callesen 2011- (missing 100 DKK) HFJ = Hugo Frey Jensen 2011- (full set) LR = Lars Rohde 2013-

Never ending story

5th November 2013 - Philippines 50 Piso Commemorative 2013 Trinity University of Asia 50th Anniversary. The Trinity University of Asia (aka TUA) was established in 1963 as an elementary, high school and collegiate educational institution. TUA was formerly known as Trinity College of Quezon City and on the 18 of July 2006, the institution was then granted the University status. TUA currently has more than 6000 students and it is located at 275 E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue Quenzon City Philippines. Commemorative banknotes of the Philippines is like a never ending story!

First Hybrid note

8 November 2013 - Iceland 10,000 Kronur Hybrid note. Iceland entered the hybrid banknotes market with the release of a new denomination of 10,000 Kronur on 24.10.2013. According to the central bank, the purpose of releasing this denomination is to facilitate and streamline payment intermediation in the country. The new banknote is dedicated to poet Jónas Hallgrímsson and features a number of references to Jónas and his work. The new notes were printed by De La Rue plc in the UK. DLR and its predecessors have been printing banknotes for Iceland for 83 years. Four million of this denomination were printed at a cost of 29 Kronur per note. Whilst the cost for printing two 5,000 Kronur paper notes would cost the bank 36 Kronur (18 Kr each), it should be noted that the printing of Optiks hybrid notes are generally more expensive due to better security features and in general you will only find them printed on high value notes with such features.  The new note is signed by the bank's governor Már Guðmundsson.

9 November 2013 - Australia Commemorative Folder with $50 paper note Celebrating Howard Florey's 50th Years of Winning The Nobel Prize. Premium Red Serial Number Note, Issued 7.9.1995. This is a $50 Banknote and stamps joint venture with NPA and Australia Post to commemorate 50 years of since Howard Florey was awarded the Nobel Price for his contributions to medical science. Lord Howard Florey (1898-1968) was one of Australia’s most eminent medical scientists. He gained prominence when he became interested in Alexander Fleming’s initial work on developing the life saving drug, penicillin. In 1939, Florey and his colleague, Ernst Chain, worked on Fleming’s discovery and purified the drug. In 1942 a small amount of the penicillin was tested on badly burned airmen with good results. Their discovery helped save thousands of lives during the Second World War. Florey was knighted in 1944 and appointed a life Peer in 1965. In 1945 he was awarded the Nobel Prize, together with Fleming and Chain. The $50 paper banknote is printed with special letter prefix of “HF” (Howard Florey) in red and issued with a pane of 10 x $2.50 Howard Florey stamps. Both the note and pane of stamp are printed with matching serial numbers. Two versions were issued with premium red serial number as above and also with deluxe folder (black serial number). A total of 3,500 folders (including 1,000 with Red Serial Number) were issued, and this is portfolio number 322 of 3,500 produced. The initial issue price for the premium set was $145 per set and this note was released on 7.9.1995.

W/KP 000 888

15 November 2013 - Scotland Clydesdale Bank plc, 10 and 20 pounds notes dated 25.01.2013 and 11.07.2013 respectively. These are the first two reprints of the UNESCO World Heritage Site series which was first introduced in 2009. Both notes are signed by David Thorburn. As these are reprints, it is also interesting to note that the title of David Thorburn has also changed from Chief Operating Office to Chief Executive.The notes posted are from the first prefix with nice half solid number of 000 888.

No symbols of circles

17 November 2013 - Indonesia 2011 annual reprints. Posted here are the notes printed with the year date of 2011. As you can see from the posting, I have a full set except the 50,000 Rupiah value and I am not sure if the 50,000 Rupiah 2011 note was issued, apart from the 2011 Commemorative Youth Pledge Day set (issued together with the 20,000 and 100,000 Rupiah). The Youth Pledge Day notes were all printed with extra pair of symbols on the left hand side of the notes such as rectangles, triangles and circles for the 20,000, 50,000 and 100,000 Rupiah respectively whilst the above 20,000 and 100,000 Rupiah posted do not have these symbols. It is also interesting to note that the signatures for the deputy governors for this set are not all the same too. I may  never find out the answer here but it would be interesting to know if the notes that I have posted here are indeed a full set, or am I still missing the 50,000 Rupiah piece! Please note that issues for 2012 and 2013 are all printed with the pair symbols for the 20,000, 50,000 and 100,000 denominations.

First Hybrid note

21 November 2013 - Solomon Islands new $50 ND2013 new hybrid note. On 26.09.2013, Solomon Islands announced the release of new series of banknotes. The $50 is the first denomination released, with the rest of the new banknotes to be issued over the course of the next few years. The imprinter of the new note is De La Rue which incorporates the company famous Optiks™ super wide security thread with a transparent window. The new note was launched by the Governor Denton Rarawa and was attended by a number of VIPs including the Finance Minister Rick Hou. This is exciting time for collectors especially those who like Hybrid notes. With this $50 hybrid note released, it is expected that the rest of the series will also be printed by DLR and with that, we would expect the new $100 to be another hybrid note as well. Solomon Islands is the forth nation (after Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Fiji) to have issued banknotes in Paper, Polymer and now Hybrid. And it is interesting to note that all these nations are located in the Oceania/Pacific region too.

Full polymer series

23 November 2013 - Canada 2011 - 2013 complete new Frontier series. Posted here are all five denominations new Canadian Frontier series from C$5 to C$100 polymer notes issued since 2011. The Frontier series themes comprises of Canadian innovation in space technology, constructions, contributions and sacrifices of Canadian men and women in military conflicts throughout their history and research & developments. Like the previous paper banknotes series, the Canadian notes are printed by two companies, namely BABN and CBN. Unfortunately, neither of the companies have printed a full set yet, but I am sure in no time they will be.

26 November 2013 - Indonesia 2012 annual reprint full set from 1000 rupiah to 100,000 rupiah. All note uploaded here are in uncirculated condition.

30 November 2013 - Costa Rica Two Thousand Colones, Dated 2.9.2009 (20.6.2011) PNL. A very nice note with a Bull shark design on the back. The 1000 Colones posted here is a polymer note.

October Postings 2013

1 October 2013 - Australia 10 years of Polymer Banknotes Commemorative (1998-1998). This is a commemorative Premium folder issued in 1998 to celebrate Australia 10th year of Australia Polymer notes. This folder contained a 1988 $10 commemorative note and a 1998 $10 note (overprinted with 26 January 1998) with red serial numbers. Australia first issued a $10 polymer note in 1988 commemorating 200th year of British settlement in Australia (1788 to 1988). In 1992, Australia commenced introducing it's first circulating polymer note of $5 and subsequently released the rest of the denominations on a yearly basis with one note each per year starting from the lowest denomination to the highest. The last note of $100 was released in 1996. Two versions of these folders were released - Premium and Deluxe. These are distinguished by the colour of the serial numbers, with Red as Premium set and black as Deluxe set. These were sold for $85 and $49 per set respectively. Only 2,500 sets issued of which 1,000 sets were printed as Premium set. Low mintage but not rare.

5 October 2013 - Scotland Bank of Scotland. I have uploaded 3 notes all printed with the date of 1.1.2006. The denominations are £5(P119e) £10(P120f) and £50(P122d). All notes are signed by Dennis Stevensen, the bank's Governor and the Treasurer Colin Matthew. As the current Bank of Scotland Bridge series dated 2007 was released in 2008, I believe that these 2006 reprints were the last of this series. However I am not sure if other denominations were printed as well, like the £20 and £100 notes. This series of notes was first released in 1995, commemorating the bank's 300 Year of Service to the Community 1695 to 1995. The first issue for this commemorative notes were all printed with AA prefix and I also have a full set in my collection. These are just normal serial numbers set (not matching) and all are in UNC condition too.

6 October 2013 - The Philippine 50 Piso commemorative note celebrating the Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) 50th anniverary. PDIC was established on June 22, 1963 by Republic Act 3591 to provide depositor protection and help maintain stability in the financial system. It's main function is to provide permanent and continuing deposit insurance to all depositors. As at 1.1.2009, the maximum deposit insurance coverage is P500,000 per depositor.

10 October 2013 - Bangladesh 100 Taka commemorative note issued to celebrate the country's 100 Years of Bangladesh National Museum

12 October 2013 - Australia $10 Centenary of Waltzing Matilda 1895-1995 commemorative note. Like the deluxe issue, this note was issued in a joint venture with Telecom Australia (now Telstra Corporation Limited) celebrating 100^th year of Waltzing Matilda. As this is a premium set, the serial number of this note is printed in red. The phone card that came with the folder has a credit value of $10 (worth $10.40). On the back of the phone card it printed with the texts - SPECIAL EDITION COMMEMORATING 100 YEARS OF WALTZING MATILDA 1895 - 1995. This card is only good at those coin/card public payphones in Australia. I am not sure if this is still valid, but one would not expect this to be used, as both the banknote and the card are sealed in the plastic sleeve and can only be removed by breaking the seal. Waltzing Matilda is an Australian folk song and is sometime referred to as ‘the unofficial national anthem of Australia’. The original lyrics were written by Banjo Paterson when he was holidaying at Dagworth Station near the Queensland town of Winton in 1895. Issue price for the premium set was $195. These folder sets were distributed equally both by NPA and Telecom Australia. The first Premium folder was sold at auction and raised $2,300. Proceeds from the sale was donated to charity. This is the only JV issue between NPA and Telecom Australia.

15 October 2013 - Namibia 2012 reprints with Diamond pattern design shifted from the center to the right. These are the reprints of 2012 issues. Only 2 notes were reissued with slight alteration on the design by shifting the Diamond shape design on the front of the notes to the right. It has been reported that when the note is folded into half, it damaged the Diamond design in such a way that it can be peeled off easily, however I am not sure if this was the reason for the reprint or simply because of stock depletion. I am not sure if other denominations were also reprinted or perhaps they did but with no alterations. Namibia, prior to independence in 1990, this country was known as South-West Africa. Between 1961-1993, the country used the currency of South Africa Rand.

19 October 2013 - Scotland, The Royal Bank of Scotland. This is a reprint issue with the date of 20.12.2007. This note bears the signature of Fred Goodwin who was then the CEO of the RBOS Group between 2001 to 2008. I am not sure if a full set was printed for this year. Whilst banknotes are not necessary printed for all denominations on a yearly basis, so far only 3 notes have been sighted for the 2007 prints - £10, £20 and £100 all signed by Fred Goodwin. I am just wondering if the £5 and £50 were printed too.

25 October 2013 - Argentina 2010 prints - 2, 10 and 20 Pesos all in UNC condition

September Postings 2013

PLEASE CLICK ON THE IMAGE OR LINK TO VIEW THE NOTE(S) ON BOTH SIDES - all notes posted on this site came from the actual notes. 

***** 

1 September 2013 - Guernsey £1 Commemorative note released on 4.7.2013. This note was issued to celebrate Guernsey's world famous son, Thomas de la Rue (TDLR) 200th year of his first commercial venture. TDLR was born in La Foret, Guernsey in 1793 and founded the De La Rue plc in London, a printing company which is now the world's largest commercial security printer and papermaker. He retired from the company in 1858 and died in London England in 1866. This issue is limited to only 300,000 pieces and has a special letter prefix of TD/LR. This is also the first series of the £1 note to feature the signature of Bethan Haines (States Treasurer). Her signature also features on the existing £20 note, as well as the 2012 Queen's Diamond Jubilee commemorative note (also a £20 note).

4 September 2013 - Philippines 50 Piso St Pedro Calungsod Canonisation 1673-2012 Commemorative. San Pedro Calungsod was born in 1654 and died as a martyr in Guam on 2.4.1672. He was also known as San Pedro Calungsod de Cebu and was officially canonised by Pope Benedict XVI at saint peter's Basilica in Vatican on 21.10.2012. It's incredible that the Central Bank keeps churning out commemorative notes just like minting new postage stamps and coins solely for numismatic purposes.

8 September 2013 - Australia 1994 Embossed Commemorative First and Last folder. Total sets issued 5,000 and was then sold for $129 per folder. This set comprises of 2 notes, one paper from the last print run and one polymer from the new print with AA94 first prefix. The paper note is printed with the last prefix of ADK. The folder for the notes are printed with a raised oval seal and it reads as "31 OCTOBER 1994 FIRST DAY OF ISSUE". Initial issue price was $66.

12 September 2013 - Malawi 2012 Issues Full Set. This set comprises of 20 to 1000 Kwacha (6 notes) and all dated 1.1.2012. Unlike the previous issues where John Chilembwe was the main feature on the front, this series features various leaders/well known people of the country. This full set of notes were released to the public for circulation on 23.05.2012.

14 September 2013 - Australia 1996 Annual 'Dated' Folder Set. This is a full set comprises of 5 notes from $5 to $50. Whilst the $100 note was issued in May 1996, this set was released prior to the issuranece of the $100 new note and as such the $100 note was not included in this series. This set were all issued individually in a folder with quantity varies for all denominations, however only 5000 complete full sets were issued. These notes are all printed with the prefix of 'AA96'. I have now completed my collection for the Annual Deluxe Folder sets, from 1994 to 1999. Annual 'Dated' sets were released by NPA (both Premium and Deluxe editions) between 1994 to 1999).

15 September 2013 - Jamaica 4 notes 1977 Collectors set series with notes of $1, $2, $5 and $10. These were issued in a folder together with a Certificate of Authenticity. The design of this set is the same as those issued earlier (P54 to P57) in the 70s except that the serial numbers are all matching and is printed with a Star prefix. These notes are also printed with "Series 1977". Standard Banknotes catalogue has given this set with a reference of CS2 but didn't provide any details as to why they were issued. However the Certificate of Authenticity stated that these were collector's series and only 5000 sets released as collector's item. By any standard, this is not many and yet it is still very affordable after all these years. The original issue price was $30 per set.

19 September 2013 - Dominican Republic - 10 and 20 Pesos Oro  Two notes both dated 2001. Pick catalogue reference numbers P165 and P166. These are the only two notes for this given year that I have. These notes are fairly cheap too.


22 September 2013 - Latvia 5 and 20 Latu (Lati) 2009 prints. I believe the Latvia currency is still the strongest currency in Europe, even stronger than the British pounds and the Euro dollar of course. Other currencies stronger than the Latu are Oman Rial, Bahrain Dinar and Kuwait Dinar. Unfortunately, as Latvia is a member of the EU community since 1.5.2004, the country is planning to adopt the Euro currency in 2014. It's a pity that we are loosing another currency to the Euro.

25 September 2013 - Australia 1988 $10 polymer 4-uncut block sheet commemorative This note was issued to celebrate 200th year of the first British settlement in Australia (1788-1988). Some interesting facts here about this uncut sheet. Together with the 4-uncut strip, half and full sheets, a total of 4,500 sheets were printed. Out of this, a total of 3,600 pieces (80% - sheets, blocks and strips) were sold at tender and bought by a dealer from Sydney. The remaining 900 pieces (20%) were retained by the bank. Of the 900 pieces, a total of 531 sheets, blocks and strips were then sold to senior bank staff at a price of $50 (127 x blocks or 316 x strips), $150 for half sheet (x 44) and $300 for full sheet (x 44). These uncut sheets were released in January 1989, one year after the circulating notes were released. There are no shortage in supply for these sheets judging by the amount of availability in the market, especially for the 4-Uncuts and the half sheets.

28 September 2013 - Indonesia 2008 prints. Few notes posted here but not a full set. Only 4 notes posted. Missing are the 5,000 and 100,000 Rupiah notes. I have not checked if these were also issued in 2008. I am sure they were.

August Postings 2013

1 August 2013 - Cambodia 100000 Riels 2013 Commemorative. This note was issued to celebrate the 60th Birthday of King Norodom Sihamoni. King Sihamoni was born in 1953 and was the eldest son of the formal King of Cambodia, King Norodom Norodom Sihanouk. He became King of Cambodia on 14.10.2004 (Coronation 29.10.2004).

3 August 2013 - Australia 2012 reprints. For the year 2012, only 3 notes are issued - $5, $10 and $50. These notes bear the signatures of Glenn Stevens (Governor) and Martin Pakinson (Secretary to the Treasurer). Martin Pakinson was appointed as the Secretary to the Treasurer in February 2011, however this is the first time his signature appears on the notes. Here I have uploaded both the first and last prefixes of these notes.

8 August 2013 - Barbados 2012 reprints. Posted here are 3 notes of $2, $5 and $10 all dated 2.5.2012. These are the reprints of those previously issued. These notes have been replaced by the new series released on 4.6.2013. I believe both the $50 and $100 denominations for 2012 have also been printed but not sure when they will be released. The $5 note that I have posted here have the birthday serial number of 198888 (8 August 1988) and for that I decided to post this today. If you were born on this day, Happy Birthday to you. You are 25 years young today.

9 August 2013 - Northern Ireland Danske Bank £10 and £20 dated 25.1.2013 and 16.10.12 respectively. These are new notes issued bearing the new owner's name, the Danske Bank (formerly known as the Northern Bank Limited). The name was officially changed (rebranded) on 15.11.2012. It also comes as all brands within Danske Bank Group, including those in Ireland, Norway, Finland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, changed to the name of the parent company. The Northern Bank has been operating in Northern Ireland for more than 200 years (since 1809) and was originally known as the Northern Banking Partnership, and it has had several owners changed since then and most recently the National Australia Bank Group (1988 to 2004). In Danish, Danske is pronounced as 'Dan-skah'. The Danske Bank operates 63 branches in Northern Ireland. The company employs approximately 1,250 staffs in Northern Ireland and has more than 20,000 workers worldwide, operating in 15 countries. These notes were released for circulation on 24.6.2013. It should be noted that from now on the bank will only issue the £10 and £20 denomination notes. The bank will cease printing the £50 and £100 notes. The bank has ceased printing the £5 note since 2000. The last £5 issued was the polymer note commemorating the Millennium Year 2000.

10 August 2013 - Philippines 100 Piso 2012 Manila Hotel Commemorative. To those who are not living in the Philippines, they must be wondering why a banknote was issued to celebrate this hotel. Well, the Manila Hotel is the most well known and prestigious hotel in the country. The hotel was first opened on 4.7.2012 and obviously this note was overprinted to celebrate the 100th year of it's inception. Since then, the hotel has been the temporary home of many well known personalities, royal families, the rich and the famous, politicians both local and foreign (the good, the bad and the ugly) including General MacArthur and his family, the Japanese army during WWII, Bob Hope, Marlon Brando, Tyrone Power, John Foster Dulles, Robert Kennedy, Sir Anthony Eden, Charlton Heston, Burgees Meredith, the Rockefeller brothers, John Wayne, Publisher Henry Luce, Richard Nixon, Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon B Johnson, the Beatles, King Juan Carlos de Bourbon and Queen Sofia of Spain, Prince Albert of Monaco, Prince of Cambodia Norodom Ranariddh, Benazir Bhutto, Indonesia Megawati Sukarnoputr, Romania Ion Iliescu, South Korea Roh Moo-Hyun and Bill Clinton. Of course there are many others too, but just too many to mention here, after all, this blog site is all about money only! Well, everyone has been there except me. I wonder if you have to pay just to get into the lobby?

15 August 2013 -Australia 1992 Embossed Commemorative First and Last folder. Two varieties were issued for this commemorative folder - Embossed and Standard Souvenir folders. There are no difference between the notes for these two folders, however the only difference is the folder cover for the Embossed set which is printed with a raised seal on the top right hand corner and it reads as - "NOTE PRINTING AUSTRALIA 1ST DAY OF ISSUE 7 JULY 1992". Quantities issued for these folders were 17,000 for the embossed set and 30,000 for the standard souvenir set. The polymer note is printed with green serial numbers. Original issue price for the embossed set was $20 and $19 for the standard souvenir set.

18 August 2013 - Congo 2012 issues. Just a set of 4 specimen notes I bought no long ago. I am not sure why I bought these in the first place. I suppose it's specimen and it was not that expensive. The 4 notes are 1000 and 5000 Francs (both dated 2005) and 10000 and 20000 Francs (both dated 2006).

23 August 2013 - Scotland Bank of Scotland dated 24.9.2004. I believe only 2 notes were printed for this given year and they were the £10 (P120e) and  £20 (121e). Both notes bear the signature of Governor George Mitchell and he is the only sole signature to these notes. It should be noted that previous notes issued all have the signatures signed by the Governor and Treasurer.

25 August 2013 - Dominican Republic 2000 Specimen Full Set (P159s - P167s) 10, 20, 50, 100, 500,1000 and 2000 Pesos Oro. A complete set of very affordable specimen notes issued during the last millennium year.

31 August 2013 - Philippines 20 Pisos ND1969 (P145). This is just a normal issue. This note was given to me as a gift for a purchase. Obviously this is a fairly cheap note or plenty availabe. This note is in un circulated condition.