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Hryvnia Becomes FX in Crimea
Since 1 June 2014, the Hryvnia is no longer legal tender in the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol. The Ruble and Hryvnia were earlier due for parallel circulation till 1 January 2016. Crimeans could exchange cash from the Hryvnia to the Russian Ruble till 1 June at the official rate, afterwards the Hryvnia is exchanged at a rate set by commericial banks operating in Crimea. To help Crimeans study the new official currency and protect them from counterfeiters, CBR are running an... Read more
Hryvnia Signed by New NBU Governor
The National Bank of Ukraine decided to issue banknotes with the signature of its new Governor Stepan Ivanovich Kubiv. The 100 Hryvnia issuance was launched on 1 June. UAH 50 with changed details will be in circulation since 1 August, UAH 500 since 1 September, and UAH 200 since 1 October 2014. According to NBU, they mean scheduled issuance to replace unfit notes withdrawn from circulation. The design and security features of the new notes will remain... Read more
Monthly Newsletter Banknotes of the World #6, 2014
The June 2014 issue of BoW presents its readers with important and interesting information from the cash circulation industry and more! Early this April, Washington, DC hosted Banknote 2014, a major cash cycle conference with experts and professionals from all over the world. We keep on reviewing the most urgent and engrossing presentations of this event and offer the outcomes of Moscow conferences on banking equipment and IT. This issue features: Speeches by the representatives of the Fed,... Read more
$1 Changing Details
This April, US cash circulation saw first 2013 $1 banknotes signed by the new Treasurer, Jacob Lew, and printed with SOI machines by KBA Giori Inc. The new printing equipment features high output (~10,000 sheets an hour) and 50 banknotes on a printed paper sheet, while older I-10 machines for US note production use paper with 32 banknotes on. Banknotes printed with the old machines form 4 columns and 8 rows on a sheet, divided into 4 quadrants. Each note's location on a sheet is... Read more
5,000 Yens for Visually Impaired
On 12 May 2014, the Bank of Japan reissued the ¥5,000 banknote with redesigned tactile features for easier note usage by the visually impaired. According to the bank's press release, the main difference of the new note from the old-design note (2004) is the design of the transparent film coating the hologram in the lower left corner on the face. It's turned 1.7 times bigger, also from ellipsoid to rectangular. By touch, the transparent film differs from other note surface areas. Now by... Read more
Monthly Newsletter “Banknotes of the World” #5, 2014
The May 2014 issue of the Banknotes of the World newsletter offers its readers important and interesting information in the cash circulaton industry and elsewhere! In early April, Washington, DC hosted Banknote 2014 as a major cash conference gathering experts and professionals from all over the world. In this issue, read: Exclusive interview with Tomas Ferguson, Conference Chairman on the outcomes of Banknote 2014 and the future of cash. Overview of the Conference's plenary session with a... Read more
CBR to Issue Commemorative VE Day Coins
The Central Bank of Russia is officially going to issue in 2014-2015 commemorative coins of the base metal series "70th Anniversary of Soviet People's Victory in Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945". The series will consist of 21 coins: 18 RUB 5 coins to be minted later this year and 3 RUB 10 coins to be issued in H1 2015. The mintage of each RUB 5 coin will be 2m pcs., with RUB 10 in 5m pcs. The coins will have standard commemorative circulatory coin characteristics. The RUB 5 coin will be minted... Read more
Stolen Francs Enter Circulation
In October 2012, Britain's Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) informed Swiss authorities of detecting suspicious 1,000-franc banknotes in a London exchange office. The notes were found to have missed cyclical turnaround and been stolen from the Orell Füssli printing plant in Zurich. As investigated by the General Prosecutor's Office of Switzerland, there were about 1,800 stolen notes causing $2m damage. According to the bank's info, absent serial number may be a sign of stolen notes.... Read more
Lithuania Launches Minting of Euro Coins
Lithuania has minted samples of the euro coins to be issued by the Bank of Lithuania by 2015. "The euro in Lithuania is taking an actual physical form - the Lithuanian coins with the 2015 date now exist not only on paper, but have been minted from metal as well. The circulation euro coin samples are high quality examples of coins – they will be the basis for the coins jingling in the purses of the Lithuanian population," says Vitas Vasiliauskas, Chairman of the Board of... Read more
Monthly Newsletter “Banknotes of the World” #4, 2014
The April issue of the "Banknotes of the World" newsletter features overviews of top cash cycle conferences in late February - early March 2014: • In Istanbul on February 24-26, Currency Research held another ICCOS EMEA 2014, the regular forum on cash cycle management and commercial cash operations, where various experts and representatives of central and commercial banks from around the world discussed cash circulation trends and shared their experiences in cash management at... Read more
Hryvnia Facing Pre-Withdrawal in Crimea
On April 11, Rustam Temirgaliev, 1st Deputy Chairman of the Crimean Cabinet Council, said that due to the hryvnia downfall and likelier Ukraine's default, the bi-currency scheme period on the peninsula might be reconsidered. What's under discussion now is substantial short-term hryvnia withdrawal on condition of its unlimited exchange for rubles and compensation of Crimeans' deposits in Ukrainian banks by the Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA). DIA is already deploying its office network throughout... Read more
Euro Coin Counterfeits Fall in 2013
The number of counterfeit euro coins removed from circulation in 2013 decreased by 4% compared to the year before, according to the European Commission. In 2013, national authorities in all eurozone countries withdrew a total of 175,900 fake € coins. According to the Commission, with 16.8b genuine € coins currently in circulation, the counterfeit ratio is just over 10 ppm. However, the vast majority of coins, unlike banknotes, do not get returned from circulation and some... Read more
Visually Impaired Marks on Australian Banknotes?
Alexandra Lanchaster in Australia has organized signatures collection in support of the initiative to embed blind and visually impaired marks in the new series banknotes the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is planning to issue in the years to come. Mrs. Lanchaster is mother to a blind son. In her view, nowadays visually impaired Australians can hardly tell the denom of the note they have on hand and take as a change, while in independent settlements they have to entirely rely on people around.... Read more
How to Detect Fake British Coins?
According to data by the UK Royal Mint (RM) for November 2013, the share of counterfeit £1 coins in circulation has amounted to 3.04%. Due to the high counterfeiting level, RM is preparing to issue a £1 coin with redesign and security features in 2017. The 12-faceted shape will be its main visual feature. It'll be also different from the old version in 2 parts: the inner part will be made of white alloy, the outer part of yellow alloy. RM is planning to use there its new... Read more
Crimea Adopting Russian Currency
On March 24, 2014, the Russian ruble became legal tender in the Republic of Crimea and Sevastople city after their joining the Russian Federation. Since then, all settlements in any payments with one party as a Russian resident have transferred to the RF currency. The Ukrainian hryvnia may still be used till January 1, 2016, after which the ruble is to become Crimea's only currency. UAH will be in exchange at a set rate (3.8 rubles per hryvnia) without any... Read more