...Samoa - 2023/2024 Polymer Series

Malo Saʻoloto Tutoʻatasi o Sāmoa

(Independent State of Samoa)

Central Bank of Samoa (est.1984)

Currency : Tala (WST)

Signatures

Minister of Finance - Lautimui Afoa Uelese Va'ai (since 01.10.2023)

Governor - Maiava Atalina Emma Ainuu-Enari (since 11.08.2011)

 

In December 2023, the central bank announced three new banknotes to be issued. These three notes are all printed on polymer substrate materials. On 18.12.2023, the bank then released the first denomination of 5 tala, with the remaining two denominations released on 23.01.2024.

 

The designs for this new series are similar to the last paper series, except that these new notes are printed on polymer substrate material and as such a see-through window is incorporated on each of the notes. Like those banknotes introduced since 2008, the prefixes are all printed with double-letter, and the first prefix for the 5 tala is AA, with BB for the 10 tala; and CC for the 20 tala. The replacement prefix is printed with the two letters ZZ.

 

Five Tala

Sandy beach in Samoa

 

Front -  Tourism team. A beautiful pristine view of a sandy beach in Samoa. Tourism is one of the main economic drivers of Samoa.

 

Five Tala (Replacement prefix ZZ)

Sandy beach in Samoa

 

Back - Robert Louis Stevenson's former residence in Samoa. He is known as Tusitala (Teller of Tales) to the locals in Samoa. Robert Louis Stevenson (b.1850-1894) was a Scottish novelist and a travel writer. He settled in Samoa in 1890 and died of a stroke in 1894 at the age of 44 years old. He died in a village called Vailima (Villa Vailima) which is about four miles south of Apia, the capital of Samoa. His former residence is now a museum.

 

Dimensions - 141.5mm x 73mm

 

Robert Louis Stevenson Museum

 

Ten Tala

Samoa International Rugby Board (IRB) Hong Kong Sevens Champion 2007

Front - Sport theme. It features Samoa's rugby sevens team triumphant victory, crowned champions at the International Rugby Board (IRB) Hong Kong Sevens in 2007. This tournament was founded in 1976 and is a 3 days event held annually in Hong Kong. Since then, Samoa have won three times, in 1993, 2007 and 2010.

Dimensions - 140.5mm x 73mm

Back - Samoan children on their way to school.

 

Samoan children

Twenty Tala

Sopoaga falls

Twenty Tala (Replacement prefix ZZ)

Sopoaga falls

 

Front - Image of Sopoaga falls in Samoa. This waterfall is situated on the island of Upolu and is the largest waterfall in Samoa. entrance to this falls cost 10 tala per person.

Back - Featuring the national bird of Samoa, the Manumea, and Samoa's national flower, the Teuila.

Dimensions - 141mm x 72.5mm

Back - Featuring the national bird of Samoa, the Manumea, and Samoa's national flower, the Teuila.

 

Manumea and Teuila (National bird and flower)

...New Zealand - $50 Reprint ND2021

 New Zealand

Aotearoa

Reserve Bank of New Zealand (est.1934)
Te Putea Matua

Currency : Dollar (NZD)

 

This is a second reprint of a $50, first introduced in 2016 (Brighter Money Series). The first reprint was issued with the date of (nd)2018 and also bearing the signature of the Governor Adrian Orr.

As this is a reprint, the designs are still the same as those previously issued.

Fifty Dollars

Sir Apirana Ngata (b.1874–1950), Porourangi Meeting House

Front - To the center right is the portrait of Sir Apirana Ngata (b.1874–1950). Sir Apirana Ngata was the first Māori to graduate from a university in the country and a Member of Parliament for 38 years. He was a Maori activist during his lifetime. In the centre left is Porourangi Meeting House. This house was designed by Major Rōpata Wahawaha and was built in 1888. This house is significant to the Ngata family as it is located next to the original Ngata family home.

 

This Tukutuku panel is known as ‘Poutama’. It means ‘stairway to heaven’ and is a feature in the Porourangi meeting house. Ko Poutama te ingoa o tēnei tukutuku, arā, ko te pikinga ki ngā rangi. He tauira tēnei i roto i te wharenui o Porourangi. 

 

Governor - Adrian Orr (since 2018)

Dimensions - 151.5mm x 73mm

 

Back - The kōkako or blue wattled crow (Callaeas Wilsoni) is a large, native bird with a distinctive bluish-grey body, a black face ‘mask’ and sky-blue wattles. The variety on the note is the North Island kōkako.

 

Pureora Forest Park, located in the central North Island, stretches for 78,000 hectares. It is one of the most ecologically significant forests in New Zealand and home to a large population of kōkako.

The sky-blue mushroom (Entoloma hochstetteri) grows throughout New Zealand. It is notable for its bright blue colour, which fades with age. 

 

To the center left are two sky-blue mushrooms. The sky-blue mushroom can be found throughout the country and it has a very distinct bright blue colour, which fades with age. 

 

Sky-blue mushrooms, Pureora Forest Park, kōkako or blue wattled crow

...Great Britain - King Charles lll Polymer Series Full Set Released 05.06.2024

 Great Britain

(England, Scotland & Wales)

 

Bank of England

Currency : Pound Sterling (GBP)

 

Here is a full set of four notes all released on 05.06.2024. Unlike the first polymer series, all these four notes were made available to the public. It has been a long time since the Bank of England has issued banknotes in full sets.

King Charles III became the King of the United Kingdom following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 08.09.2022. Coronation was held on 06.05.2023. The last series of polymer notes with the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II were released between 2016 to 2021. I suppose the release of this series in full set is to honour the new monarch. If not, the Bank of England would just print new banknotes with the image of King Charles III as and when current stocks of banknotes are depleting. 

 

Since the introduction of the polymer series in 2016, this is the first reprint for the ₤5, third reprint for the ₤10, and the first reprints for both the ₤20 and ₤50 notes.

 

Apart from the new portrait of King Charles III, there are no changes to the main features or theme for this polymer series.

 

Five Pounds

King Charles III

 

Front - King Charles III (b.1948), a see-through window with Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben), Britannia;

 

Signature - Sarah John (Chief Cashier since 2018)

Watermark - Portrait of King Charles III on the see-through window

Dimensions - 126mm x 65.5mm

 

Back - Sir Winston Churchill 1874-1965, Palace of Westminster and Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben), 1993 Nobel Prize in Literature award medal, Blenheim Palace maze (Blenheim Palace - birthplace and ancestral home of Sir Winston Churchill);

 

Sir Winston Churchill 1874-1965

Ten pounds

King Charles III

Signature - Sarah John (Chief Cashier since 2018)

Watermark - Portrait of King Charles III on the see-through window

Dimensions - 133mm x 70mm

Back - Image of Jane Austen (b.1775 - 1817). Jane Austen, a novelist, was born in Steventon (Hampshire), south of England.  She is known as one of the most famous writers in English literature and she has only written 6 full-length novels. Her novels were made into TV series, films, theater plays and radio adaptations. She died at a very young age of 41.

 

Jane Austen (b.1775 - 1817)

 

Twenty Pounds

King Charles III

Signature - Sarah John (Chief Cashier since 2018)

Watermark - Portrait of King Charles III on the see-through window

Dimensions - 140mm x 73.5mm

 

Back - An image of Joseph Mallord William Turner (b.1775-1851) with a backdrop of one of his famous paintings, the Fighting Temeraire. This oil painting was completed in 1838. The portrait William Turner printed on this note came from a self-portrait oil painting completed in around 1799. William Turner was a romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He was born and lived in London all his life.

 

Joseph Mallord William Turner (b.1775-1851)

 

Fifty Pounds

King Charles III

Signature - Sarah John (Chief Cashier since 2018)

Watermark - Portrait of King Charles III on the see-through window

Dimensions - 147mm x 78mm

 

Back - The main design of this note on the back features Alan Mathison Turing (b.1912-1954). Alan Turing was a brilliant mathematician, computer scientist and a code breaker too. If you have seen the movie called 'The Imitation Game' then you know who I am referring to. Alan Turing was born on 21.06.1912. This note pays tribute to Alan Turing for breaking the Nazi Germany Enigma machine encryption code during the Second World War. The Enigma was a machine used by the Nazi to send secret messages securely and to make it even more difficult to crack, the German changed the cipher system daily. During the first few years of the war, Germany's U-boats (Wolfpack - a convoy of submarines) were very successful in sinking Allied ships in the Atlantic ocean, the Indian ocean and the Pacific ocean thus affecting Britain's war supplies from the United States and other countries in fighting the Nazi. The British government then formed a cryptography team that initially included Alan Turing to study and find a way to break the Enigma code. Alan Turing was not happy with some of the team members in the initial process, and he wrote to the then Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who then put Alan Turing in charge of the project. In July 1942, he successfully cracked the code which enabled the British to listen to the messages sent by the Germans, thus giving the British an advantage in the open seas. Alan Turing was awarded an OBE in 1945 for his wartime contribution. However, he was prosecuted in the early 1950s for being a homosexual as it was illegal then. He was arrested and found guilty of gross indecency and instead of going to prison, he accepted chemical castration as his punishment. On 07.06.1954 at the age of 41, he was found dead at his home. The official caused of death was suicide by cyanide poisoning. As not many people, even in the Great Britain would have heard of Alan Turing until the movie 'The Imitation Game' made in 2014, I guess this note is to celebrate Alan Turing's achievement during the last world war and perhaps (maybe) an apology to him for prosecuting him for who he was. In 1967, the British parliament passed the law to decriminalise homosexual activities in the United Kingdom.

 

Whilst Alan Turing was credited with the breaking of the German Enigma code, it should be noted that it was the Polish mathematicians who worked out how to read the Enigma messages first and then shared the information with the British government.

 

Alan Mathison Turing (b.1912-1954)

...Mauritania - 20 Ouguiya Polymer 2020 Polymer

الجمهورية الإسلامية الموريتانية

(République islamique de Mauritanie)

(Islamic Republic of Mauritania)

 

 البنك المركزي الموريتاني

(Central Bank of Mauritania, est.1973)

Currency - Ouguiya (MRU)

 

This is an odd polymer note of twenty ouguiya reportedly released in December 2021. I believe this note formed part of the 2017/2018 currency reform series. The currency reform is for the re-denomination of the previous ouguiya currency where one new ouguiya is equal to 10 ouguiya.

 

As this note was released in December 2021 and not the same as those issued in the 2017/2018 series, I have decided to upload this in a separate post. Like the 2017/2018 series, this is also a polymer note.

 

 Twenty Ouguiya

The Grand Mosque of Gataga

 

Front - The Grand Mosque of Gataga in the southern city of Kaedi. This mosque was built in 1946 and is one of the oldest mosques in Mauritania.

 

Treasurer General - Unknown 

Governor - Cheikh El Kebir Moulay Taher (tenure 2020-2022)

Dimensions - 130.5mm x 66mm

 

Back - A bird's eye view of the Richat Structure or Guelb er Richat. The Richat Structure is a circular geological feature in the Adrar Plateau of the Sahara desert, and is located near Ouadane in the Adrar Region of Mauritania. This is a geological wonder and has a diameter of 40 kilometers. It is reported that this unique structure is visible from spaces and it is also commonly known as the Eye of Africa.

Richat Structure

 

...Tonga - ND2023 Series Full Set Paper And Polymer

 Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻO Tonga

(Kingdom of Tonga)

 

Pangike Pule Fakafanua 'O Tonga

(National Reserve Bank of Tonga, Est.1989)

Currency - Pa'anga (TOP)

 

Signatures

Prime Minister - Siaosi Ofakivahafolau Sovaleni (since December 2021)

Minister of Finance - Tiofilusi Tiueti (since October 2022)

Bank Governor - Tatafu Toma Moeaki (since December 2022)

 

Below is a full set of paper/polymer notes released on 04.12.2023. This set comprises six notes from 2 pa'anga to 100 pa'anga. This is the first time this tiny pacific nation has issued a polymer banknote and the bank has released them in the denominations of 5 and 10 pa'anga. I believe this is the 9th series of banknotes issued since 1921.

Right now there are about 11 nations in the Pacific region that are issuing their own banknotes, and all have at least one or two notes that are printed on polymer substrate except for the French Pacific Territories and New Caledonia. Countries like Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu have all fully converted their banknotes to polymer notes and now Tonga have issued two of their notes in polymer substrate notes too. The reason for the two notes of 5 and 10 pa'anga printed on SAFEGUARD on polymer substrate is that these are the two most used denominations in the country. These notes are all printed by De La Rue.

 

The theme for this new series is similar to those previous issues with the exception of the 50 pa'anga. I believe the design for the 50 pa'anga is completely new. As expected, the design on the front for all the notes are the same albeit in different colours. The dimensions for all six notes are also basically the same with 1 to 1.5mm in variance, which is normal. These notes are undated (nd2023).

Two Pa'anga

King of Tonga, Tupou VI (b.1959)

Front - King of Tonga, Tupou VI (b.1959). He was crowned King of Tonga on 18.03.2012 following the death of his brother, King George Tupou V. Prior to that, he was the 13th Prime Minister of Tonga from 2000 to 2006. In 2008, he was the Chief of mission for Tonga's High Commission in Canberra Australia and in 2010, he was appointed as the Tongan ambassador to Japan. To the far right is the Coat of Arms.

Watermarks - King Tupou VI and electrotype NRBT

Dimensions - 150.5mm x 70mm

 

Back - The theme on the back of the note is related to tourism, depicting a Humpback whale doing a water backsplash. Whales watching months in Tonga is from June to October, with August and September are the best months.

Whale watching

Five Pa'anga (Polymer)

King of Tonga, Tupou VI (b.1959)

 

Watermarks - King Tupou VI and electrotype NRBT (transparent window)

Dimensions - 151.5mm x 71mm

 

Back - Ha'amonga stone gateway or Ha'amonga 'a Maui is a stone structure with two vertical large stones supporting a third stone on the top. This Ha'amonga 'a Maui is situated on the island of Tongatapu. Standing next to the structure is a man/woman. This gives you some ideas how big this structure is. It is believed that this structure was built by King Tu'itatui in the 13th century in honour of his sons. 

 

Ha'amonga 'a Maui

Ten Pa'anga (Polymer)

King of Tonga, Tupou VI (b.1959)

 

Watermarks - King Tupou VI and electrotype NRBT (transparent window)

Dimensions - 151.5mm x 70.5mm

 

Back - Tonga ancient and ritual ceremony, depicting Princess Angelika Latufuipeka Tuku'aho (b.1983) performing Kava Ceremony Milolua. The princess is the eldest daughter of King Tupou VI, and the princess is the current Tonga High Commissioner to Australia since 2012.

Milolua

Twenty Pa'anga

King of Tonga, Tupou VI (b.1959)

 

Front - This note is printed with a PUREIMAGE security feature, a holographic thread in the central right of the note.

 

Watermarks - King Tupou VI and electrotype NRBT

Dimensions - 151mm x 69.5mm

 

Back - The National Reserve Bank of Tonga (NRBT) building in Nkuk'alofa. The NRBT is a five story building and is the tallest building in Tonga. The building also hosts the Embassy of Japan.

The National Reserve Bank of Tonga (NRBT) building

Fifty Pa'anga

King of Tonga, Tupou VI (b.1959)

 

Front - On the front it features the NEXUS security thread, a dynamic micro-optic thread with the 'Drive' effect and denominational numeral.

 

Watermarks - King Tupou VI and electrotype NRBT

Dimensions - 151.5mm x 70mm

 

Back - The St George Government Building was built in May 2017. This is a four-storey building which is occupied by the Prime Minister department, the Minister of Finance and National Planning, and also the office of Trade and Foreign Affairs. The cost for the construction was funded via a grant from China and was built by Shanghai Construction Group.

 

St George Government Building

One Hundred Pa'anga

King of Tonga, Tupou VI (b.1959)

 

Front - With NEXUS security feature which is a 18mm wide embedded micro optic stripe on the central left side of the note.

 

Watermarks - King Tupou VI and electrotype NRBT

Dimensions - 151mm x 70mm

 

Back - On the back is the Royal Palace situated in Nuku'Alofa, the capital city of Tonga. This wooden palace was built in 1867 and is located only a short distance from the Pacific ocean. The palace is the official residence of the King of Tonga.

Tonga Royal Palace in Nuku'alofa (capital city of Tonga)