Author|Lu Zhenxiang
Generally speaking, banknotes will be replaced every 10 to 20 years on average, and the anti-counterfeiting design, materials and printing processes of the new version of banknotes will be more advanced, and the face design and background will also be modified and adjusted with the times. For some countries in war-torn and inflationary periods, banknote versions will be changed more frequently, perhaps every two or three years to adapt to the current economic situation.
In most cases, as soon as a new version of a banknote is issued and put into use, the old version of the banknote will be discontinued. As for the old banknotes that are in use, people can go to the bank to exchange them for the new banknotes within the specified time, and the bank will only collect the old banknotes without paying them, so as to gradually collect the old banknotes in the market. When the time comes, the government will deactivate the old banknotes and ban them from circulation, and the new banknotes will completely replace the old banknotes. After a few years, newer versions of the banknotes will be used, and the original new banknotes have become old ones, so another trade-in begins. The change of varieties of banknotes is more or less the same.
However, there are exceptions, some banknote versions that should have been withdrawn from circulation, or have been abolished and discontinued, and have been put to peace, have been "reborn" and continued to be used after some special processing and transformation and careful "dressing".
Cap reboot
After the Second World War, there was a wave of democratization and independence on the African continent, and liberation movements broke out one after another, eager to get rid of slavery, gain freedom, end colonization and move towards independence. In December 1951, Libya took the lead in declaring independence, becoming the first independent African country after World War II. In 1960, 17 African countries became independent, so this year is called the "Year of African Independence". Namibia's independence in March 1990 marked the final collapse of the world's colonial system and the end of the history of enslavement of Africa by European colonizers. Since then, all African countries have gained independence, and a new chapter in the development of the continent has begun.
During this period, Mozambique, located in southeastern Africa, under the leadership of Zamora Machel (1933-1986), finally broke free from Portuguese colonial rule after more than a decade of arduous struggle and officially became independent on June 25, 1975. As an independent sovereign state, the Mozambican government has voided the currency issued by its previous colonizers and plans to introduce its own currency. In order to make it cheaper, the Mozambican government decided to affix the banknotes issued by Portugal in the country, that is, to affix the words "BANCO DE MOCAMBIQUE" directly in the middle of the invalid 50 (see Figure 1), 100, 500 and 1000 escudo banknotes, in order to declare the sovereignty of the banknote. The banknotes, which were supposed to be obsolete, were repurposed by the Mozambican government and became the first banknotes issued by the country after independence.
COINCIDENTALLY, IN THE EARLY 70S OF THE 20TH CENTURY, WHEN BANGLADESH BECAME INDEPENDENT FROM PAKISTAN, THE FIRST SET OF BANKNOTES ISSUED BY BANGLADESH WAS ALSO A REVERSION OF THE PREVIOUSLY USED PAKISTANI RUPEE WITH THE WORDS "BANGLADESH" (SEE FIGURE 2).
Ticket renewal
In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. In the same year, Georgia, a Soviet republic, declared independence. Subsequently, Georgia carried out a series of reforms in order to achieve the goal of "de-Sovietization". In the issuance of banknotes, Georgia did not adopt the treatment of Mozambique and Bangladesh in the face of the old Soviet ruble previously used in the country, that is, directly printing the name of the country on the face of the banknote, but chose to affix the national stamp issued by Georgia on the Soviet ruble banknote, and the face value of the stamp on the banknote is the face value of the banknote. This operation is especially common on the frequently used 1 ruble note (see Fig. 3, Fig. 4).
This move allowed the Soviet ruble, which should have been invalidated in Georgia, to continue to be used in another way, and this special combination of "stamp + banknote" - "affixed" banknote has also become a wonder in the contemporary numismatic world and is favored by the majority of collectors.
Makeover
"Makeover" is mainly aimed at character banknotes, aiming to modify the character patterns on existing banknotes, and through this secondary design, the banknotes can keep pace with the times and continue to be used without being obsolete. This kind of situation occurred in Asia, Africa and Latin America in the 70s, 80s and 90s of the 20th century.
In 1979, Iran erupted in a massive Islamic Revolution, also known as the "1979 Revolution". Under the leadership of religious leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Ruholas (1902-1989), Iran's Shia Muslims marched forward one after another, overthrowing the Pahlavi dynasty and ousting the last king, Pahlavi, ushering in a new era in Iran's history.
After the revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini became head of state and began to restructure Iran. In terms of banknotes, the Iranian government opted to use the ready-made banknotes issued during the Pahlavi period, but with the addition of the relevant ornamental motifs to cover the pahlavi portrait on the banknotes (see Figure 5).
In 1985, the then president of Haiti, Jean-Claude Duvalier (1951-2014), was successfully elected as the "president for life" through fraudulent methods. On February 7 of the following year, the younger Duvalier saw that the situation was getting worse and could not be ended, so he had to flee in a hurry and go into exile. In commemoration and out of resentment against the Duvalier family, the new government stamped the portrait of the elder Duvalier (1907-1971, father of Duvalier Jr., former President of Haiti) with the "Circle" logo and commemorative numbers such as "7 Fev.1986" (see figure 6).
Between 1996 and 1997, the first Congolese war was fought in central Africa. During the fighting, Kabila (1939-2001), who was supported by Uganda and Rwanda, led his army to defeat the government forces led by Mobutu (1930-1997), and the Mobutu government, which had ruled the Congo for 32 years, collapsed.
During Mobutu's reign, he was tyrannical, profligate, and unpopular. When Kabila came to power, the banknotes bearing Mobutu's portrait were not stamped and printed, but his head was removed directly from the banknotes (see Fig. 7) to facilitate reuse. This is where the rare "face-digging banknotes" (also known as faceless banknotes) in the history of banknotes come from. In November 1997, Congo officially launched a new version of the banknote.
Fork reproduction
Even if many classic and historic banknotes are discontinued, they will be reproduced and rediscovered in the future. Romania, for example, officially reproduced the 1881 version of the 20 lei banknote in 2021 (see Figure 8) and reproduced and restored it to the greatest extent. In addition, countries such as Samoa and North Korea have also reproduced famous banknotes issued in the country's history.
"Replica banknotes" are used in the past and for modern use, reproducing classics, which not only meets the collection needs of the majority of collectors, but also is a kind of inheritance of coin culture.
The development of banknotes, like a flat boat that traces the flow in the long river of history, crosses the stormy waves, changes through the wind and clouds, and sees the turbulence of the years.
(Courtesy of the author)
(Editor in charge: Hou Haoyi)