THE 1000-Piso polymer banknote of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) won High Security PrintingTM Asia’s (HSPA) “Best New Banknote Award” for 2023. The award was announced in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 05 December.
HSPA is a regional forum1 that features the latest technologies and techniques in producing and issuing banknotes, ePassports, ID cards, visas, and other secure documents across Asia.
The “Best New Banknote Award” is a category under HSPA’s regional Banknote of the Year Award,2 recognizing banknotes and series with outstanding design, technical sophistication, and security achievements. Considerable emphasis is placed on reflecting the cultural heritage and relevance of the overall design and symbolism to the issuing country.
The obverse side of the 1000-Piso polymer banknote showcases the Philippine Eagle, which symbolizes the Filipinos’ uniqueness, strength, power, love for freedom, and sharp vision; as well as the national flower Sampaguita, which represents purity, simplicity, humility, and strength.
Its reverse side features the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site; the T’nalak weave design; and the South Sea Pearl.
The BSP began circulating the 1000-Piso polymer banknote in April 2022. Note Printing Australia Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Australia’s central bank, prints the banknote.
The 1000-Piso polymer previously won the International Banknote Society’s “Banknote of the Year Award” for 2022. The BSP’s communication campaign for said banknote also bagged the “Best New Currency Public Engagement Program” from the International Association of Currency Affairs in May 2023.
Meanwhile, the PhilID, or the country’s national ID under the Philippine Identification System,3 won the 2023 “Best New National ID Card Award” from the HSPA.
For more information on the 1000-Piso polymer banknote, visit https://www.bsp.gov.ph/SitePages/CoinsAndNotes/PolymerBanknote.aspx.
