Best Banknote and ID Document

The award was presented to Banco Central de Nicaragua for a new series of polymer and paper banknotes launched in 2015.

The five new polymer notes have greater durability, especially in the lower denominations, than previous notes. The highest denomination, the 500 cordobas, is printed on paper.

The banknotes have been redesigned and upgraded with leading-edge security features, greater harmony in the designs (which feature architecture on the front and cultural traditions on the reverse – each denomination relating to a specific region of the country), more contrasting colours and more use of optical effects.

The polymer notes are printed on Innovia’s Guardian® substrate (including, for the first time, the 50 and 100 cordobas) while the 200 cordobas is the first circulating banknote in Nicaragua to feature Latitude® – a substrate-integrated diffractive optically variable device using silver nanoparticles that are not restricted to patch or stripe formats – with the shape of a guardabarranco (Nicaragua’s national bird).

The 500 cordobas, printed on paper, is one of the first banknotes to feature SPARK Live. It also features Oberthur Fiduciare’s DualTrack security thread, with the sacuanjoche (Nicaragua’s national flower) connecting the two non-adjacent tracks. The flower features in the watermark as well.

According to the central bank, the new series has achieved its objectives of improved aesthetics, increased durability, enhanced differentiation and recognition between the notes and greater resistance to counterfeiting. Moreover, the public reaction has been positive and less vault space is required for storage.

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.

The organisers of the Latin American High Security Printing (HSP) Conference are delighted to announce at the Conference in Bogota, Colombia today, that the inaugural award of Latin American Banknote of the Year 2013 was presented to Senora Katya Daura, President of S.E. Casa de Moneda, Argentina for the 100 Pesos Eva Perón note.

The Argentinean 100 Pesos banknote was issued in 2012 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the death of former first lady Eva Perón. The banknote was designed by Roger Pfund based on the earlier work of Renato Garrasi and produced by S.E. Casa de Moneda.

The selection criteria are based on design visibility, banknote functionalities, security sophistication as well as thematic relevance.

Commenting on the Award Committee’s decision, Martyn White, Chairman of Reconnaissance International, remarked on the note’s bright-coloured appeal, the ‘world-class’ intaglio portrait of Eva Perón, the integrative use of security elements as well as the rich heritage perceived through the banknote and readily identified by the population.

Nominations are open to banknote printers and central banks for the next Latin American Banknotes of The Year, and Reconnaissance International foresees the expansion of the Award Committee to include industry representatives.