Coins
Sweden picks famous faces for new banknotes
Riksbank announces motifs to be emblazoned on new banknotes; include actress Greta Garbo, author Astrid Lindgren and singer Birgit Nilsson
SNB to close Geneva office as cash distribution services are outsourced
Swiss National Bank says Geneva office will close next year as cash distribution services to be carried out by private firms; fifteen staff affected by closure
Estonia nabs firms over euro leak
Bank of Estonia fines two companies for mishandling euro coins ahead of the currency’s launch in 2011; strong link to coin sale in neighbouring Latvia
Czech National Bank withdraws smallest banknote
Czech National Bank says Kc50 note will be replaced with coin in April; cites cost of replacing notes and change in value
Bank of Russia wants to scrap kopek coin
Russian central bank proposes that one and five kopek coins be abolished due to high metal prices and low demand
Bank of Israel: Currency Department Annual Review (2009)
Bank of Israel currency department’s report for 2009 reviews new cash payments system policy
Holocaust museum slams Romanian central bank over ruling on anti-Semite coin
US Holocaust Memorial Museum labels National Bank of Romania’s decision to keep anti-Semite coin in circulation “misguided”
Romania keeps coin featuring anti-Semite in circulation
Romania says it will keep a controversial coin featuring an anti-Semite despite calls for ban by Jewish community
Romania to review calls to ban coin featuring anti-Semite
National Bank of Romania to reconsider circulation of coin portraying religious leader who called for exile of Jews from country; move follows protests from Jewish community
Cash holding on the rise
Notes and coins in circulation were on average 1.1% higher than December, new data from the Bank of England show.
ECB official praises Slovakia's euro entry
The changeover from Slovak koruna to euro, which took place in January, was very smooth, said Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo, a member of the European Central Bank's Executive Board.
Ireland's Hurley to stay on after term ends
The governor of Ireland's central bank, John Hurley, has agreed to stay on beyond the official end of his first seven-year term in March.
Stop storing coins, says Solomon Islands CB
The Central Bank of the Solomon Islands has called on citizens to swap their coins for notes rather than hoarding them - a practice which has led to a shortage.
New UK coinage meets lukewarm reception
New coin and banknote designs are almost inevitably greeted with criticism and the first new coin designs for 40 years from the UK's Royal Mint, unveiled on 3 April, were no exception. Historians, designers and MPs have already criticised them.
Coin misuse trouble Bank of Korea
Korean ten-won coins have recently found favour as decorative pendants - a development that has the Bank of Korea worried.
Euro makes rapid progress in Cyprus and Malta
Euro banknotes already account for 50% of the total in circulation in both Malta and Cyprus, the two Mediterranean islands that adopted the single currency on Tuesday.
Sales remain within Gold Agreement Limit
Gold sales by the 16 signatories to the Central Bank Gold Agreement between 27 September 2006 and 26 September 2007 amounted to 475.75 tonnes, 24.25 tonnes shy of the 500 limit, the Bank for International Settlements said on Wednesday.
Venezuela set to publicise new currency
The Venezuelan Central Bank will launch a nationwide campaign to familiarise consumers with its new notes and coins, which will come into circulation at the start of next year.
Slovenia 'well prepared' for euro
Slovenia has entered the final phase of preparations for the launch of the euro on New Year's Day, and is ready for the switchover, a central bank official said Thursday 14 December.
RBNZ runs out of coins in Xmas lead up
Just five weeks after phasing out the old coins, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has now written to the country's retail banks warning them there will be a shortage of the new 20 cent pieces in the lead up to the busy Christmas period.
Counterfeiters finally crack the Euro note
According to this article published on The New Zealand Herald's website on Wednesday 2 August, the amount of counterfeit currency discovered in the 12 euroland countries is now running at 600,000 notes a year - roughly the same as before the single…
New Zealand's new coins go into circulation
Smaller, lighter 50, 20, and 10 cent coins were released Monday 31 July in New Zealand. The new coins retain the same "heads" and "tails" designs but the 10 cent coin is copper-coloured, the RBNZ said.
RBNZ countdown to smaller lighter coins
On 31 July the current 50, 20, and 10 cent coins will be replaced with smaller and lighter coins, and the 5 cent coin will begin to be phased out, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand said on Monday 10 July.
RBNZ releases Explaining Currency booklet
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand on Monday 3 July released a third edition of its popular Explaining Currency booklet. The booklet takes readers through the history of New Zealand's currency, describes the banknote and coin designs, and how banknotes and…