Ghana issues new GH¢50 banknote, 20 million pieces in circulation
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) today August 21, 2012 officially issued the upgraded GH¢50 banknote into circulation.
The Bank says the notes have high security features.
The issuance ceremony took place at the forecourt of the BoG. The acting governor Dr H.A.K. Wampah was the first Ghanaian to be issued the banknote at the central bank’s banking hall counter this afternoon.
The central bank in early July 2012 announced it will introduce an upgraded GH¢50 note to combat the activities of counterfeiters.
According to then BoG governor and now Ghana’s Vice President, Mr. Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, even though the situation of counterfeiting of the country’s highest currency denomination is not alarming, the Bank is taking the step to move ahead of the fake currency printers.
Dr Wampah who launched the banknote, told reporters that the upgraded GH¢50 banknote has a “more secure and technologically advanced” public recognition feature called “Spark”, together with other features. The Spark, he explained, is in the form of a green cocoa pod located towards the bottom right hand corner of the banknote.
“The upgraded GH¢50 banknotes have arrived and today we are undertaking the inaugural issue and wish to inform you that from this day August 21, 2012, the much expected upgraded GH¢50 banknote will be in circulation in the country and can be obtained from your bankers upon request,” Dr Wampah said.
Officials say 20 million pieces of the upgraded banknote have been released for circulation into the market.
The upgraded note has the same colour as the old one, but the hologram on the note will be replaced with a green cocoa pod. The colour of the cocoa pod will change from green to blue when the note is rotated.
The upgraded note still bears the images of the six political figures of Ghana known as the ‘Big Six’. It also carries the photograph of the Osu Castle which is the country’s seat of government.
By Ekow Quandzie
Dr Wampah receives the new GH¢50 banknote