Expect new money from the Bank of Ghana, which has just announced that it will issue upgraded banknotes beginning in May.
In a statement released to the media Monday, the central bank wrote that the new notes will have enhanced security features, improved durability and machine readability.
Parts of the improved features include:
1) An optically variable magnetic image, also known as “SPARK LIVE.” The enhancement is a glossy, colour-changing image of the cowrie shell currently on the GH¢10. On the GH¢20 note, a shiny star will appear, and on GH¢50, a glistening cocoa pod. When the note is tilted, a high-polished line will stretch across each image that will move up and down and change colour from gold to green.
2) A new security thread (RAPID) will be an illuminated broken line that runs horizontally through the note. When tilted, the star will expand and contract while the denomination value stays in place.
3) A more prominent watermark will appear. It will be the image of the Ghanaian agriculturalist Tetteh Quarshie and a cocoa pod. Against light, the watermark will appear transparently on both sides of the note.
4) A polished gold band with gold bars on the back will be printed on the new banknotes. The iridescent band will stretch from top to bottom and will become visible when held against light.
But with all the changes, the following features will remain the same:
1) The Big Six portrait
2) Denominational colours
3) Dimensions of the various denominations
4) Other principal and background images
“The Bank therefore entreats the public to know the cedi and keep it clean,” the statement concluded.
