In this new periodic feature for Currency News™ we report on the latest tenders and contract awards for banknotes, coins and related services.

Further to the news that De La Rue has agreed a sale of its Authentication business to Crane NXT – a move that will alleviate the financial pressures that have hung over the company in recent years – Currency News™ spoke to Ruth Euling, Executive Director and Managing Director of the remaining Currency division, to find out more about the sale and what it means for the company in terms of production, investment, and its customers.

On 3 October, the Argentinean media went wild announcing that Milei’s never- a-dull-moment government would be restructuring and, possibly closing, the Argentine Mint (Casa de Moneda República Argentina – CAMOAR).

Estonia is set to introduce new rounding rules next year, with the country also planning to stop minting 1 and 2 cent coins.

The Brazilian President has nominated Gabriel Galípolo to be the next Governor of the Central Bank of Brazil.

In the first half of 2024, Spectra Systems achieved sales of $22.74 million, an increase of 96% compared to the first half of 2023.

At the Global Currency Forum, Daniel Schwarzbach, Innovation Director at Orell Füssli Security Printing (OFS), unveiled the company’s new tool for measuring the environmental impact of banknotes – BEES® (Banknote Environmental Evaluation Software), which it believes is the first design-oriented LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) tool not just for banknotes, but for any sector.

Titled ‘Change’, the Royal Australian Mint’s 2023 annual report is aptly named for an organisation that experienced multiple significant changes over the course of last year, including the introduction of the new royal effigy on its circulating coins and the extensive renovation of its visitor centre.

The saying ‘made of money’ is often used as an idiom to describe wealthy people. In the case of De La Rue, its interpretation of the term under its new #madeofmoney campaign is literal – namely, consumer items that are made out of recycled polymer banknote waste.

The winners of the 2024 IACA Excellence in Currency Awards for Coins were announced by IACA Executive Director Marci Chavez at a special presentation ceremony during the Coin Conference in Lisbon on 29 November.

The programme has now been published for High Security Printing™ (HSP) Asia, which takes place 2-4 December 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Central Bank of Lesotho is issuing new 10 and 20 maloti banknotes which have the same design as the current notes but which will be the first to feature Anima™ security threads from Oberthur Fiduciaire, via its partnership with (and subsequent acquisition of a majority stake in) Rolling Optics.

Recent months have revealed the significant financial pressures mints face as they contend with declining demand in a competitive and crowded market characterised by oversupply.

Oberthur Fiduciaire introduced a new family house notes at the Global Currency Forum, on the theme of ‘The Art of Butterflies’.

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.