Here Is A List Of 15 Coolest Banknotes In The World

Currency is one of those ever-present objects in our lives, something that passes through our hands every day. So mundane that we don’t really notice what it looks like each time we see it. But the design of our bills is ever-shifting, continuously updated for contemporary aesthetics.

Visitors usually bring a set amount of currency for the single purpose of buying gifts and souvenirs for themselves or for their loved ones back home but imagine traveling to a country just to bring back the very thing you’d normally spend.

1. Comorian franc

The designs you still see today originated in the 1970s, with periodic tweaks to the design to add additional security measures. The first Comorian Paper money was printed in 1920, an emergency issue of Madagascar’s postage stamps fixed to a card that allowed them to be used as currency.

2. Costa Rican colones

The Costa Rican coins are somewhat ordinary, but the bills are some of the most beautiful paper currencies out there.

The reverse side of each of the bills is different and focuses on Costa Rica’s beautiful biodiversity with representations of plants, ecosystems, and animals such as sloths, hummingbirds, and sharks.

3. The Cook Islands’ Dollar

Cook Islanders are New Zealand citizens and the currency used in the Cook Islands is the New Zealand Dollar. That said, the Cook Islands also have their own bills and coins, including an unusual $3 bill and a triangular $2 coin, both of which are collected by travelers to the islands and kept as cool souvenirs.

4. Aruban Florins

When designing its currency, Aruba aimed to represent the country’s essence. Aruban artist Evelino Fingal created this colorful line of banknotes in 1990, combining the country’s unique natural flora with the patterns of pre-Columbian pottery.

5. Icelandic krona

With a cartoonishly Nordic look, the krona is fun for the whole family. This is the currency of Iceland. Iceland is the second smallest country by population, after Seychelles, to have its own currency and monetary policy.

6. Angolan kwanza

The banknotes are quite similar in design, with only different colors separating them. The Banco Nacional de Angola issued a new series of kwanza banknotes on March 22, 2013, in denominations of 50, 100, 200, and 500 kwanzas

7. Israeli shekel

Israeli currency the shekel is known for its colorful banknotes, and its bills have more features than meets the eye. The governor’s signature that appears on bills is written in raised ink, so it can be felt and makes the bills difficult to counterfeit. Shekel banknotes also vary in length according to denomination, in order to aid the visually impaired.

8. Icelandic krona

It’s hard to escape good design in Scandinavia, even on currency. In the traditional style, historical figures are featured and against the backdrop of folk patterns. But the whole image still manages to be laid out and colored in a way to feel like a very contemporary note.

9. Australian Dollars

Australia was the first country to utilize a plastic polymer note, beginning in 1988 marking the country’s 200th anniversary. The designs featured famous cultural figures of the country, including Aboriginal writer David Unaipon

10. Bermudian Dollars

Bermuda redesigned their currency to debut in 2009, as a celebration of their 400th anniversary — the first redesign since the launch of their dollar. The International Banknote Society awarded The Bermuda Monetary Authority for their work, specifically on the $2 note.

11. Bhutanese Ngultrum

The image on the front of this bill is the government’s crest surrounded by dragons, a whimsically swirled aesthetic against the sharp lines of the background patterning. 2006 is the latest in Bhutan’s series of notes, a bit younger currency than many others around today having started circulation in 1974

12. Dutch Guilder

While almost every note we see depicts the image of a country’s leader, historical figure, or a cultural or geographic signifier, it’s the differentiation in geometry, pattern, and color that really attracts attention.

13. Hong Kong Dollars

Hong Kong Dollars are some of the most colorfully fun to get your hands on. They do feature cultural and historical references but in a layout geometrical and abstract enough to differentiate them from many other contemporary currencies.

14. Fijian Dollars

The currently circulating set was designed in a series over a span of years, featuring all sorts of endemic flora and fauna

15. Kazakhstani Tenge

The current designs issued by the National Bank of Kazakhstan came around in 2006, with one side displaying vertically and the other horizontally as well as having text in both Kazakh and Russian.

The obverse of each note depicts the same collection of cultural images in different colors, while the reverses focus on different sets of architecture and geography.