The Reserve Bank of Fiji has released a commemorative banknote to celebrate the Chinese Lunar Year of the Dragon. The date of issue – the eighth day of the eighth month – is an auspicious one, the number 8 being the luckiest in Chinese culture, symbolising wealth and good fortune.
The note has a face value of 100 Fiji cents and features the theme of the Chinese Dragon, one of the 12 Chinese zodiac signs. It was a collaboration between the Bank, De La Rue and China Coin, and highlights both Chinese and Fijian culture.
De La Rue designed and printed the note on SAFEGUARD® polymer substrate. The main feature is a transparent window surmounted with a wave pattern and the number ‘100’ depicted in gold with a pseudo relief effect. The window is populated with Fijian flora, and fauna. The fish and coral motif utilise depth and movement effects with the fish moving in opposing directions when the note is tilted east/west.
The note also features SPOTLIGHT™, an interactive feature with counter rotating Pyramid Butterfly fish, that resolve into sharp focus under a point light, such as a mobile phone. Beneath the SPOTLIGHT effect is a golden pearl with a Fresnel effect. Microtext beneath the oyster shell reads ‘Good Luck in the year of the dragon’. A PUREIMAGE™ design completes the base of the window design.
Surrounding the holographic designs, which can be seen on either side of the note, are detailed gravure images of the Bank’s logo, an iguana and the red throated lorikeet.
The front of the note features a red hibiscus prominently displayed alongside a colour shifting flower printed in an optically variable magnetic ink. The front also features UV enhanced GEMINI™ effects alongside standard GEMINI.
The reverse of the note features a stylised dragon, surrounded by white and yellow clouds. Under ultraviolet light the dragon appears in fluorescent yellow and green.
This is the Bank’s second use of SAFEGUARD polymer. Their first, the Fiji $5 which was issued in 2013, was the first circulating banknote to be printed on SAFEGUARD.
The Dragon note is limited to 950,000 pieces, which are available for international purchase.
