Georgia’s 50 Lari note nominated for Banknote of 2016

Georgia’s vibrant new 50 GEL banknote has been nominated for an international award which reveals the best bill of 2016.

The International Bank Note Society (IBNS) announced its members were about to vote for the IBNS Banknote of the Year award, which is referred to as the Oscars of Paper Currency.

The IBNS Banknote of the Year award is an initiative of the IBNS to recognise an exceptional banknote issued each year.

Banknotes nominated must have been issued to the public for the first time during the year of the award, and must have artistic merit and/or innovative security features, and be in general circulation," read the Banknote of the Year terms and conditions. 

Nominations for the award will be accepted up to January 31 of the following year, while the winners will be revealed in April 2017 after the IBNS Board meeting.

Georgia's 50 GEL banknote was nominated by the IBNS member David Lok.  

Georgia's revised 50 GEL banknotes were released in February 2016. Photo by IBNS. 

Among the nominees were entries from England, Switzerland and Georgia, "whose 50 Lari note is full of medieval iconography,” wrote Bloomberg.

Below are the notes IBNS members have so far nominated for Banknote of the Year 2016.

• Maldives 1,000 Rufiyaa Note
• Switzerland's 50 Franc Note
• Scotland's 5 Pound Note (Royal Bank of Scotland)
• New Zealand's 50 Dollar Note
• England's 5 Pound Note
• Georgia's 50 Lari Note
• Belarus' 100 Ruble Note
• Sweden's 100 Kronor Note
• Australia's 5 Dollar Note

The 50 GEL banknote features Queen Tamar, who ruled Georgia from 1184 to 1213, a period known as the the 'Georgian Golden Age'. The note has a holographic stripe and a magenta-to-green security thread.

Georgia’s new banknotes have already gained international recognition after winning the Regional Banknote of the Year 2016 award in Bucharest, Romania.

In March 2016 at the High Security Printing Europe conference, the national banks of Georgia and Kazakhstan were awarded the coveted Regional Banknote of the Year 2016 award, sharing the honours for Georgia’s new Lari currency series and Kazakhstan’s 20,000 Tenge banknote.

Georgia’s revised 20 and 50 GEL banknotes in bright new colours and sizes were released to the Georgian public in February 2016.