Thailand: Series 16 Banknotes

Bank of Thailand issued the series 16 50 Baht banknote on 18th January 2012. The remaining denominations are expected to be issued as stated below:

1. 20 Baht - 5 December 2012

2. 100 Baht - 2013

3. 500 Baht - 2013

4. 1000 Baht - 2013


Two commemorative banknotes will be issued in 2012:

1. 100 Baht commemorating 60th birthday of HRH Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn - obverse will be same as present series 15 100 Baht banknote but reverse will be changed.

2. 80 Baht commemorating 80th birthday of HM Queen Sirikit - design is not known. Initial reports say that it will be sold at 200 Baht each.

Updates on series 16 and commemorative notes will be posted in due time.

Thailand: 100th Anniversary Fine Arts Department coin

On 1st March 2012, the Treasury department of Thailand have issued a bimetallic 10 Baht coin to commemorate 100 years of "Fine Arts Department" or กรมศิลปากร which was established on 27 March 1911.

Coin details:

10 Baht: Bimetallic, 8.5g, 26mm, Mintage 2 million coins

India: Banknotes with Rupee symbol - update

The Reserve Bank of India have issued or will shortly issue more banknotes with the Rupee symbol. These banknotes carry the signature of Dr. D. Subbarao as Governor RBI.

1. 20 and 50 Rupees without any inset letter and year 2012 (on reverse) - press release of RBI on Apr 12, 2012.

2. 500 Rupees with "L" inset letter and year 2012 (on reverse)

3. 1000 Rupees with "R" inset letter and year 2011 (on reverse) - press release of RBI on Feb 21, 2012.

4. 10 Rupees without "P" inset letter and year 2011 (on reverse) - press release of RBI on Feb 17, 2012.

5. 100 Rupees with "R" inset letter and year 2011 (on reverse) - press release of RBI on Jan 18, 2012.


See earlier updates in

India: Banknotes with Rupee symbol - update posted on Dec 28, 2011

India: Banknotes with Rupee symbol - update posted on Nov 25, 2011

Thailand: 20 Baht Series 15 - new signature variety

20 Baht (P 109) notes from series 15 are now issued with the signatures of Kittiratt Na-Ranong as Finance Minister and Dr. Prasarn Trairatvorakul as Governor of BOT.

Thailand: 500 and 1000 Baht Series 15 new signature variety

500 Baht (P 107) and 1000 Baht (P 115) notes from series 15 are now issued with the signatures of Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala as Finance Minister and Dr. Prasarn Trairatvorakul as Governor of BOT. Note that signature Dr. Prasarn Trairatvorakul (Governor of BOT) has been modified for Thai banknotes of Series 15 since January 2012.

Thailand: Signature of Governor of BOT modified

Note that signature Dr. Prasarn Trairatvorakul (Governor of BOT) has been modified for Thai banknotes of Series 15 since January 2012. It is not a new signature variety.

Laos: New 100,000 Kip banknote

The Bank of the Lao PDR will issue a 100,000 Kip banknote early February in a bid to encourage more people to use the national currency. Speaking at a press conference in Vientiane yesterday, Currency Issuing Department Director General Mr Souphat Khotnhotha said the main purpose of putting the 100,000 kip note in circulation was to make it easier for people to make cash payments.

With the proliferation of trade, frequent cash transactions are becoming an increasing necessity. “With 100,000 kip banknotes, people won’t need to carry so many notes around with them to pay for goods and services,” he said, adding that many people prefer to use foreign currencies as they are easier to carry. At present, the highest value kip banknote is 50,000 kip (US$6) while the highest value Thai baht banknote is 1,000 baht (US$32).

Mr Souphat said the new 100,000 kip note is worth US$12, and this higher value will encourage more Lao people to use their national currency. Economists say the Bank of the Lao PDR will find it easier to manage money supply and keep foreign exchange rates stable if everyone uses the kip in cash transactions.

In response to public concerns that inflation would rise with such a large banknote in circulation, Mr Souphat said it would not result in an increase in money supply. “The supply of money will remain unchanged,” he said. He explained that the presence of the 100,000 kip note would not put any more money into people’s pockets so there was no need to worry about a rise in inflation. He also said the Bank of the Lao PDR would ensure that circulation of both small and large denomination banknotes was sufficient to enable people to pay for goods and services of varying prices. The new banknotes have been printed overseas, and contain a security feature that prevents them from being counterfeited.

Many people have complained about the short supply of small denomination banknotes in circulation, which they need to give as small change. They also said the shortage led to inflation because vendors set prices based on the availability of banknotes. Bank of the Lao PDR officials say that traditional merit-making ceremonies are partly to blame, because so many notes are damaged in the process and it is impossible for the bank to ensure a constant supply of small denomination notes. They said the cost of printing both small and large denomination banknotes was similar, and that constantly having to print more small notes was a costly undertaking.

Source: Vientiane Times

Hong Kong: New Series 20 Dollars note SCB and BOC

20 Dollars SCB - courtesy Noteshobby @ebay


20 Dollars BOC - courtesy Noteshobby @ebay

New 2010 Series Hong Kong 20 Dollars banknotes have now been issued by all 3 banks. Above are from the Standard Chartered and Bank of China. 20 Dollars of HSBC can be viewed at Hong Kong: New Series 20 Dollars note HSBC.

Hong Kong: New Series 20 Dollars note HSBC

20 Dollars HSBC - courtesy Noteshobby @ebay

New 2010 Series Hong Kong 20 Dollars banknotes have now been issued. Above is from HSBC. Notes with same denomination from Standard Chartered and Bank of China are also expected any time soon.

Thailand: 100 Baht banknote Series 15 - new signature variety

P114 100 Baht note with sig 83

100 Baht notes from series 15 are now issued with the signatures of Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala as Finance Minister and Dr. Prasarn Trairatvorakul as Governor of BOT.

Thailand: 20 Baht banknote Series 15 - new signature variety

P109 20 Baht note with sig 83

Thailand's Series 15 banknotes are going to be soon replaced by the new Series 16 on 18th January 2012 starting with the 50 Baht note. However, Series 15 notes are still being printed with the signatures of Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala who recently took over as Finance Minister and Dr. Prasarn Trairatvorakul as Governor of BOT.

Thailand: Series 16 Banknotes to be issued on 18th January 2012

50 Baht obverse with sig 83

On 12th January 2012, Dr. Prasarn Trairatvorakul, Governor of Bank of Thailand announced that the long awaited series 16 banknotes will be issued on 18th January. The first banknote of this series to be issued will be the least used 50 Baht followed by the most widely used 20 and 100 Baht notes. The 500 and 1000 Baht notes will follow later during the year.

Press release of BOT on 12th January 2012.

India: 500 Rupee banknote with Rupee symbol

The Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue 500 Rupees banknotes with the new Rupee symbol. These banknotes will be very similar to the existing Mahatma Gandhi Series and will carry the signature of Dr. D. Subbarao as Governor RBI, will be without any inset letter and have year 2011 on reverse.

Press release of RBI on Dec 26, 2011.



See also:
India: Banknotes with Rupee symbol - update on Nov 25, 2011.

India: RBI to issue 10 Rupees banknote with the Rupee symbol on Sep 25, 2011.

Malaysia: New 4th series banknotes 2012

The Central Bank of Malaysia (Bank Negara Malaysia) has announced a new series of banknotes themed “Distinctively Malaysia". This 4th series banknotes will be issued sometime in 2012 and will have denominations of RM1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100. The RM1 and RM5 will continue to be polymer.



For more details see

Bank Negara Malaysia - THE NEW SERIES OF MALAYSIAN BANKNOTES.

Laos: New 2000 Kip banknote issued

The Bank Of the Lao PDR (BOL) issued a new 2000 Kip banknote on 1st December 2011 a day before the 36th national day of the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic. Director General of the Currency Issuing Department of the BOL, Souphat Khotnhotha told a press conference recently that this small denomination banknote, printed in Laos, is made from better quality material and brighter than the 2000 Kip notes issued in 2003.