Bank of China Chinese Zodiac New Year Commemorative Banknotes (Year of the Tiger)
Bank of China Limited has issued the new series of Chinese Zodiac New Year Commemorative Banknotes, in denomination of MOP10, into circulation from January 2012.
The Chinese Zodiac New Year Commemorative Banknotes are tinted mainly in red, representing jubilation and auspiciousness. The front of the banknote illustrates an animal of the Chinese Zodiac by Chinese paper-cut art – one of the masterpieces on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and a red couplet of the Chinese word “Fu”– a popular ornament with the meaning of welcoming the spring, good luck and happiness during the Spring Festival. Behind the paper-cut animal, it shows the Earthly Branches circle; Behind the “Fu” red couplet, a red lantern symbolizing family reunion. The reverse of the banknote features the head quarter building of Bank of China Macau Branch on the left, incorporating the World Heritage listed A-Ma Temple and the traditional painting -“The Hundred Sons”.
With the standard watermark in the form of a lotus and the image of the paper-cut animal illustrated on both sides, the designs of both sides of the banknote follow the same theme and fully demonstrates the territorial characteristics of Macau - the resemblance of a full bloom lotus and the theme of auspiciousness and tranquility of the Spring Festival, symbolizing the long history and profound connotations of the Chinese culture.
Banknotes Sample:
Year of the Tiger - obverse
Year of the Tiger - obverse
| Security Features | Introduction |
|---|---|
| Multi-Tonal Watermark | The multi-tonal watermark is made by specific process, the lotus pattern is visible when the banknote is held up against light. |
| Highlight Watermark | The highlight watermark is made by specific process, the denomination numeral "10" displays a high contrast with paper when the banknote is hold up against light. |
| Metallic Ink | The diamond-shaped "福" pattern on the upper right of the front is printed with engraved gravure metallic ink, which has obvious metallic luster under light and unique and bright colour compared with the conventional ink. |
| Intaglio Tactile Feature | This security feature is intaglio printed and has strong tactility by touch. |
| SPARK? Screen-Printing SPARK? |
The denomination numeral "10" is printed with OVMI?, it shows the color changes between golden and green with a rolling bar effect in different angles when the banknote is tilted or rotated. |
| Intaglio See-Through Register | The see-through register patterns are double sided simultaneous intaglio printed, the figure shows overlapped and complementarily effects in perfect register. |
| Invisible Fluorescent Pattern | The pattern is printed with invisible fluorescent ink. It appears yellow fluorescence under UV light. |
| Intaglio Micro-Text | By using a magnifier, intaglio printed micro-letters of "MACAU10" can be found in the horizontal pattern above "澳門(mén)幣拾圓" on the center of the front side. |
| Dynamic Color-Shifting Windowed Thread | The dynamic color-shifting windowed thread is made by specific process. It shows golden when viewed at perpendicular angle and turns green when the banknote is tilted. The rolling bar moves up and down and shows a switching effect with the changing of viewing angle. The denomination numeral "10" on the security thread are visible when viewed against light. |
| Liquid Crystal Color-Shifting Windowed Security Thread | The color-shifting windowed security thread is made by specific process. It shows magenta when viewed at perpendicular angle and turns green when the banknote is tilted. The denomination numeral "10" on the security thread are visible when viewed against light. |
| Visible Fluorescent Pattern | A part of offset printed pattern with fluorescent ink on the reverse fluoresces yellow under UV light. |
