Improved banknotes and coins hit SA market to fight counterfeiting

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has introduced upgraded banknotes and coins that will be in circulation from today, May 4.

The new notes and coins will be introduced in stages with the banknotes still bearing Nelson Mandela’s face, along with the Big Five.

SARB governor Lesetja Kganyago said the notes also marked the 10th anniversary of Mandela’s passing.

Our currency has over the years celebrated seminal milestones of our democracy, starting with the inauguration of the first democratically elected president Nelson Mandela. To learn more about Madiba’s enduring legacy and the upgraded banknotes and coin, visit the exhibition at… pic.twitter.com/03aj7ALcRQ

— SA Reserve Bank (@SAReserveBank) May 3, 2023

He said the upgraded banknotes and coins were adjusted with enhanced security features and new designs to combat counterfeiting and other illegal activities.

The coin series will include new landing patterns on the inside of the coin to assist the visually impaired community to differentiate between the various denominations through the sense of touch.

While the R10 to R200 banknotes were designed with colour-changing ink, the Big Five animals have been multiplied on each note and when held up to the light, the security thread appears as a continuous solid dark line.

“Counterfeiters diminish the value of real money, rot countries worldwide of billions of their currency annually and tarnish the credibility of the currency impacting growth and the economy,” said Kganyago.

Kganyago said the current banknotes and coins still retained the same monetary value.

“We also celebrate our constitutional democracy with the preamble to the South African Constitution printed in micro text around Madiba’s portrait and the country’s flag featured on the front and the back of the banknotes,” Kganyago said.

“The theme of the coin series is ecology, which acknowledges the interconnectedness of living organisms as an integral part of the environment.

“These themes are depicted by our fauna and flora on the coin,” said Kganyago.

Kganyago said before upgrading the notes, various partners were consulted such as the sports, arts and culture department, South African Council for the Blind, Pan African language board and SA Biodiversity Institute amongst others.

He said banknotes and coins were regularly upgraded in line with international best practice to combat counterfeiting and to stay abreast with technological advancements.

“In general, banknotes are refreshed in intervals of six to eight years and coins in intervals of 20 to 30 years.

“In South Africa, the current Mandela banknote series was issued in 2012 and a commemorative series of banknotes was issued in 2018. The current coin series was issued in 1989.”

He encouraged the public to familiarise themselves with the upgraded banknotes and coins and to use the look, feel and tilt method to authenticate their currency.

Changes to the upgraded banknotes and coins are as follows:

Coins:

The coins remain unchanged in diameter, and still bear the national Coat of Arms, mintage year and the 11 official languages of South Africa.

The following design enhancements have been made to the coins:

– The Cape honey bee is on the 10-cent coin,

– Bitter aloe is on the 20-cent coin,

– Knysna turaco is on the 50-cent coin,

– King protea is on the R1,

– Springbok is on the R2 and

– Southern right whale is on the R5 coin.

The South African flag is on the front of the R1 coin and the words “South Africa” appears in one language on the R1 coin.

The words “South Africa” are in three languages on the R5 coin.

The latent image on the R5 changes from “RAND” to “FIVE” when tilted.

Banknotes:

The denomination sizes and the banknote paper remain unchanged.

The following enhancements have been made:

The Look:

– The colours have been subtly enhanced to improve visual differentiation between the denominations to cater for the partially sighted communities.

– The watermark depicts the shadow image of the Big Five animal unique to each denomination, together with its denomination numeral.

– The preamble to South Africa’s Constitution is featured on the left and right sides of the main portrait in micro-lettering.

– Large-denomination numerals have been incorporated on the front and back of the denominations, printed in a positive and negative text to assist the partially sighted community.

– Each denomination now has a shape that encapsulates the see-through perfect print registration of the animal that is unique to each denomination. These shapes are diamond on the R10, rectangle on the R20, circle on the R50, hexagon on the R100 and oval on the R200. A complete image of the Big Five animal can be seen when the banknote is held up to the light.

The Feel:

– The tactile marks have been enhanced to support the blind and partially blind communities to differentiate between the denominations. The tactile marks are on the short edge of the R10 and R20 denominations and the long edge of the R50, R100 and R200 denominations. The gaps between the sets of tactile marks are counted to determine the denomination of the banknote: R10 (one gap), R20 (two gaps) on the short edge; R50 (one gap), R100 (two gaps) and R200 (three gaps) on the long edge.

– The Coat of Arms, the words “South African Reserve Bank”, the Governor’s name and signature, the main portrait and the denomination numeral are in raised print on the front of the banknotes.

– The words “South African Reserve Bank” in two of the 11 official languages, denomination numeral and the Big Five animals are in raised print on the back of the banknotes.

Tilt features

A colour-changing ink with a spin circle feature is incorporated within the Big Five animal on the bottom right of the banknote. The circle spins and changes colour when the banknote is tilted.

The abbreviation “SARB”, the denomination numeral and the Big vie animal unique to each denomination are visible on the security thread. When the banknote is held up to the light, the security thread appears as a continuous solid dark line.

– The denomination numeral appears as a latent image or hidden image on each banknote. The latent image can be seen by tilting the banknote almost horizontally to your eye

South Africa’s new currency will start co-circulating with the old currency in the economy from tomorrow. #SARBConnectingUs #OurMoneyOurPride#Mandela10@SAReserveBank pic.twitter.com/5iTY4VVoVs

— NelsonMandela (@NelsonMandela) May 3, 2023

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