Intergraf is best known in the banknote community for its biennial Currency+Identity conference and for its certification scheme for security printers. But it provides a range of services and tools for the broader print industry, two of which have relevance to banknote printers.

The finalists for the 2024 IACA Excellence in Currency Awards for Coins have been announced, with the presentation of the winning submissions scheduled to take place at this year’s Coin Conference in Lisbon, Portugal.

The Guatemalan currency, the quetzal, was introduced in 1924. The Q1 commemorative banknote, released in September 2024, is only the second commemorative banknote in the history of Banco de Guatemala (Banguat), and commemorates the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the quetzal as the national monetary unit.

Danmarks Nationalbank has provided details of the themes for its new banknotes series, which will consist of four denominations – 50, 100, 200 and 500 krone – and will be issued from 2028 onwards, replacing the current 2009 series featuring Danish bridges and ancient artefacts.

Another company launching a new house note during the Global Currency Forum is KURZ. The note, dubbed Meadow, has been designed to promote the company’s ‘KURZ THREADS with KINEGRAM COLORS®’ portfolio.

Currency News™ began to publish global annual updates on banknote demand in 2017. This update will start with an analysis of the development of banknote circulation in value terms during recent years.

Sweden’s Riksbank is threatening banks with the prospect of regulation to ensure business access to cash services.

Austrian-based film and foil specialist Hueck Folien, a leading supplier of security threads and foils for banknotes, is taking a number of steps to put its products at the forefront of sustainability and reach its goal of ecologically-neutral production by 2035.

Earlier this year, the US Mint published a proposal to abolish its Mutilated Coin Redemption Program, relating to the face value exchange of bent, partial and fused coins.

Belgium is one of many countries with a coin circulation problem, and the Treasury has launched a social media campaign – #spendyourchange – encouraging citizens to use their loose change.

In this periodic series of articles covering cash information in central bank annual reports, this month it is the turn of Malaysia, Thailand, and Tunisia.

€11 million sophisticated counterfeiting print shop dismantled in Naples.

Described as the cash industry’s pre-eminent gathering since its inception in 1992, for more than 30 years the Currency Conference has provided a unique platform for senior-level central bankers, representatives of printworks, and leading industry suppliers to deliberate and engage with peers on the most vital topics impacting currency policy and the issue function.

The first Directory of Currency Suppliers™ was published in 2004. This year has seen the publication of the seventh edition. Here, we take a look at changes between the sixth edition from 2018 and today, and a slightly higher level look at 2004 and today.

According to the hit single I’m Your Venus (from the Dutch rock band Shocking Blue in 1969 and then again from the UK girl band Bananarama in 1986), ‘Venus is the name of the game’. It’s also the name of Louisenthal’s latest security feature – specifically RollingStar® Venus, an upgrade on the company’s portfolio of threads based on its micro-mirror technology.

The inaugural Security Designers Forum was held in Warsaw, Poland, from 10-13 September 2024. An initiative of the security design community, it was the successor to the International Banknote Designers Conference and was a full-capacity event, attracting 176 delegates from 82 organisations spanning 32 countries.

Laos’ Parliament has removed Bounleua Sinxayvoravong as Governor of the Bank of the Lao PDR, a position he held since 2022.

Reconnaissance, the High Security Printing™ (HSP) conference organiser, has announced that registration is now open for the upcoming HSP Asia event, scheduled for December 2-4, 2024, in Bangkok, Thailand.

In last months’ Currency News™, we reference the Bank of Guyana’s upgrade of its $500 and $1,000 banknotes with Rolling Star® LEAD Pure security foil from Louisenthal on the former, and Crane’s RAPID® Vision security thread on the latter. In this article, we provide more details of the $500.

The usual picture that comes to mind of a counterfeiter’s modus operandi is one of clandestine operations carried out under cover of darkness. But what happens when the illegal activities are carried out in plain sight and what is the industry doing to prevent them?