DelhiPlanet Weekends : The Beauty Of Money – 2

We’re back with Part -2 of our special feature on the Beauty and Artwork involved in the design and creation of different currencies. If you missed part 1, then you can catch it here.

The Sao Tame And Principe Dobras

Sao Tome and Principe, officially the Democratic Republic of Sao Toma and Principe, is an island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Africa. It consists of two islands: Sao Tome and Principe. It is the second-smallest African country in terms of population. It is also the smallest country in the world that is not a former British overseas territory, a former United States trusteeship, or one of the European microstates and is also the smallest Portuguese-speaking country.

Well, there’s nothing great about the currency note of this place except that it’s one of the least valued currencies in the world with $1 = 14,395 STD (the abbreviation used for this currency). The only two other countries with lower valued currencies are the Vietnam Dong and the Zimbabwean Dollar which has an eye-popping conversion rate, $1 = 236,706,849.48 Zimbabwean Dollars.

The French Pacific Territories Franc

The French Pacific Territories better known as French Polynesia consist broadly of French-administered territories outside of Europe. Known mostly for their paradise like islands such as Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora etc, these territories probably have the most beautiful currency( known as the CFP Franc) in the world.

Try to think about any one world currency that has beautiful females adorning the back and front. Well, if you are still thinking chances are that you have never seen one. There are infact very few world currencies that have faces of women on them. The Comorian Franc is one of them and the CFP Franc is another.

The introduction of the Euro has surely taken away the fun of collecting currencies and although it would be a great idea to have a single currency for the whole world or single currencies for each continent, it would rob the pleasure of “showing off” your currency collection and ofcourse you would have no instant proof that you ever visited a particular place.

DelhiPlanet Weekends : The Beauty Of Money – 1

Imagine what the currency of Italy(Lira) would have looked like, had the great Leonardo Da Vinci made the design. What if the Indian Government hired the country’s best painter to re-design the Indian Currency notes, how do you imagine they would turn out to be(Seems like a great idea for an Independence Day contest, is someone from the Times Group reading this).

Well, it is a well known fact that money talks and rules this planet and there are very few experiences and desires that cannot be fulfilled by the power of money. However that is the only aspect of money or currency that is appreciated, it’s ability to purchase. It is only the coin and currency collectors who appreciate the beauty and history associated in the design of money/currency.

But whether you like to spend, save or just collect the fact is that everyone is always eager to see what the currency of another nation looks like, even if the value in terms of your currency is very low. Money sometimes can also be very beautiful and creating it is an art, whether it’s the engraving that makes up the bills or the bas-relief sculpture on the coins. There are long histories in both as art mediums.

This week we’ve decided to give you a glimpse of 4 of the most beautiful and intriguing currencies of the world, starting with 2 in the first part of this article. So sit back, relax and enjoy the beauty of money.

The Hong Kong Dollar

This particular $10 note is quite different from other currencies of the world. Issued in 2007 to mark the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to it’s motherland, these notes are plastic notes which have been printed on polymer material instead of paper, have better security features and are more durable lasting about four times as long as paper notes.

Such unique plastic banknotes are issued only by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government. So the beauty of this note lies in it’s futuristic design and well, the artwork isn’t that bad either.

The Cook Islands Dollar

The Cook Islands are a self-governing parliamentary democracy in free association with New Zealand. The fifteen small islands in this South Pacific Ocean country have a total land area of 240 square kilometres. The Cook Island Dollar is pegged at par with the New Zealand Dollar (which is about Rs. 33.6).

So although India is a country with a population of more than 1 billion people, a unit of it’s currency is just 0.03 times the Cook Island Dollar. That’s some fact isn’t it, although these days you’ll rarely find these notes in circulation as the islands mostly use the New Zealand dollar now. The Cook Island currency notes are quite beautiful with each note depicting different aspects of their community. For example this note illustrates the rich and varied sea life of the islands.

(Note: Catch the next part of this series next week. )