The regional Banknote of the Year Award recognises outstanding achievement in the design, technical sophistication and security of a banknote or banknote series, the key judging criteria being that successful banknotes should combine visual artistry and high levels of technical and security sophistication, with considerable emphasis placed on reflecting the cultural heritage of the issuing country in the note, and the relevance of the overall design and symbolism to the issuing country.
For example, the new 5 peso note not only features national hero José de San Martín but other liberators of Latin America – Simón Bolívar, Gervasio Artigas and Bernardo O’Higgins – symbolising the common background shared by all Latin American nations and possible political union.
The 100 peso honours Eva Perón, the first time a woman has appeared on an Argentine banknote – while the 50 peso is the first banknote to feature a place, the Malvinas Islands.
The series also includes a commemorative 100 pesos banknote which honours ‘Madres y Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo’- the protest movement of mothers and grandmothers formed to find out the fate of their missing children who disappeared during the ‘Dirty War’ of the 1970s and early 1980s, and who in doing so stood up to the country’s military dictatorship. The front of the note features the white headscarf which became the movement’s symbol, while on the reverse, the image of a DNA helix is a reference to the successful identification of some of these children of those who disappeared (who were adopted by military families) through DNA testing.
The new series was publicised through a communication campaign that included tv advertising, social media and a mobile app, a documentary film, a book, a short film competition, a public exhibition and other memorabilia.
The award was received by Casa de Moneda Argentina.
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