MINSK, 14 October (BelTA) – The National Bank of Belarus confirms its plans to issue the renewed Br20 and Br50 banknotes in 2020, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the National Bank Dmitry Lapko said as he spoke at the international numismatic conference Belarusian Ruble at 25 on 14 October, BelTA has learned.
“The National Bank monitors banknote security trends, modern materials used in their manufacture, and takes measures to further improve real money. The National Bank has announced the issue of the renewed Br20 and Br50 banknotes in 2020,” said Dmitry Lapko.
According to the deputy chairman of the National Bank, the updated Br5 and Br10 banknotes were put into circulation on 20 May 2019. They were developed on the basis of Br5 and Br10 banknotes, which were in circulation since 2016. The design of the banknotes was amended to reflect the recent changes, including the images of Belarusian architecture on the front sides of the banknotes. For educational purposes, the banknotes bear the names of the architectural structures.
The security features of 2009 banknotes were developed more than 10 years ago, which required its upgrading. The changes concerned the watermark, security thread, the hidden image and individual machine-readable security elements. Two-sided varnishing and contour reinforcement were applied to increase the durability and extend the life of banknotes.
The National Bank pays special attention to the development of the numismatic market and the issue of commemorative coins. The commemorative coins issued by the National Bank are divided into four groups: Belarus and International Community, History and Culture of Belarus, Sport, and Environmental Protection.
Commemorative coins dedicated to the 2nd European Games were issued in 2019. The bank continued its series of commemorative coins on environmental topics Wildlife Reserves of Belarus and The Bird of the Year. The gift segment is represented by the Chinese Calendar series and commemorative coins Saint's Day. Along with the issue of commemorative coins in honor of the 1000th anniversary of Brest, the issue of commemorative coins dedicated to the anniversaries of outstanding personalities was continued with the launch of the coin to mark the 200th birthday of the Belarusian composer Stanislaw Moniuszko. The achievements of the Belarusian athletes will be celebrated by the issue of commemorative coins dedicated to tennis.
The list of commemorative coins for 2020 is under development. The bank plans to issue commemorative coins dedicated to the 150th birthday of the Belarusian painter Ferdynand Ruszczyc and a commemorative coin celebrating avant-garde art.
The international numismatic conference is a biennial event held by the National Bank with the assistance of the Belarusian Numismatic Society. Taking part in this year's forum is about 60 representatives of major museums and central banks, leading numismatic scholars, researchers in the history of money circulation, banking and modern minting from seven countries: Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine and Belarus.
Photos by Egor Pavlyushchik
