IBNS Banknote of the Year

The IBNS Banknote of the Year award is an initiative of the IBNS to recognize an exceptional banknote issued each year.

IBNS Members can nominate a Banknote for the award by contacting the Banknote of the Year Co-Ordinator (banknoteoftheyear@theibns.org). Banknotes nominated must have been issued to the public (specimens and non-circulating currencies are inelligble) for the first time during the year of the award, and must have artistic merit and/or innovative security features, and be in general circulation. When nominating a note, please provide your reasons for nomination, and if possible, a scan of the front and back of the note. Nominations for the award will be accepted up to the 31st January of the following year. For full terms & conditions of the award, please see here.

Once nominations have closed, the winner will be decided by a vote of the IBNS, who will consider the artistic merit, design, use of colour, contrast, balance, and security features of each nomination.  The winner will be announced at the the first IBNS Board meeting of the year.

Curaçao and Sint Maarten wins 2025 IBNS Bank Note of the Year Award

The International Bank Note Society (IBNS) announces that its voting membership has for the first time selected the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten to receive its annual prestigious “Bank Note of the Year Award” for 2025.

With almost 100 new banknotes released worldwide during 2025, only 17 were deemed of sufficiently new design to be member nominated. From the onset of voting the Curaçao and Sint Maarten 200 Gulden note was the overwhelming favorite.

The 200 Gulden is part of a new series launched by the Central Bank with 5 denominations, all drawing inspiration from the “World Under the Sea.” The face of each note is horizontally orientated and features marine life native to the islands while the reverse is vertically orientated with historical and cultural landmarks. The winning note is the largest denomination of the set and is predominantly purple and features long snout seahorses and a giant tun shell in blue-to-green OVI on the face. The back of the note showcases the iconic Queen Emma Bridge.

This series of notes are printed on paper by Crane Currency and integrated with many security features: a compass rose watermark with letters XCG, a 3D moving stripe, high-relief printing, color-changing ink, security threads that create an illusion of moving waves, iridescent color, and a see-through register. The tactile markings along the short edges of each banknote help the visually impaired to easily identify the note which is signed by Richard A. Doornbosch (President) and Leila A. Matroos-Lasten (Directory Secretary of the Central Bank).

Banknote of 2026 Nominations

Do you know of a Banknote which will be introduced into circulation in 2026 that has

Then why not nominate that note by email to banknoteoftheyear@theibns.org including your IBNS Membership number and if possible, a scan of the front and back of the note.

Nominations for the Banknote of 2026 will appear here as they are received.

The Previous IBNS Banknote of the Year Winners are: