New Belarusian banknotes printed in UK, coins minted in Lithuania and Slovakia

On November 10, a Euroradio journalist visited the National Bank repository to see the new Belarusian money. The banknotes that will be in circulation after the denomination on 1 July 2016, were printed in the United Kingdom. The coins were minted in Lithuania and Slovakia. The National Bank in-house designer Svyatlana Nyarasava designed the new money.

Belarusian coins will be made of steel and will be coated with various alloys - nickel, copper or brass. Coins will be of different diameter and weight. The 2-ruble coin is similar in appearance to 2 euros, but the Belarusian coin is 1.4 times lighter than 2 euros.

According to Svyatlana Nyarasava, the color of the banknotes corresponds to the region: for example, the Vitsebsk region is a region of lakes, so the 10 ruble banknote, dedicated to the Vitsebsk region, has blue and green hues.

As of 1 July 2016, Belarus will have seven denominations - 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 rubles. And the eight denominations of coins - 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 kopeks and 1 and 2 rubles.

The general concept of new money corresponds to the motto "My country - Belarus" and the bills feature an image of architectural monuments of the country.

Each note is devoted to one of the regions of Belarus and the city of Minsk.

The design was developed by the National Bank staff considering that the banknote should have several levels of protection. For example, new money has six visible security features - watermarks, special threads, as well as several hidden security features, which are known only to specialists. According to the National Bank staff, the new money will be better protected against counterfeiting. The coin lifetime will be from 10 to 15 years, banknotes "serve" from about 6 to 12 months.

The five-ruble banknote is dedicated to the Brest region, it features the image of the Kamenets tower and on the left side - the image of the first settlements on the territory of Belarus.

The 10 rubles note is dedicated to the Vitsebsk region. On the obverse of 10 rubles the designers placed the Transfiguration Church in Polatsk, and on the reverse - a collage dedicated to the Enlightenment: a sign of Frantsysk Skaryna, Cross of Saint Euphrosyne.

The obverse of the 20-ruble banknote is dedicated to the Homiel region, the artists placed Rumyantsau-Paskevich Palace, and on the left side - Turau Gospel, the belfry and the town of Turau.

The 50 ruble note is dedicated to the Hrodna region. In the bill, you can see the Mir Castle, as well as collage, devoted to culture and arts.

Since the 100 rubles banknote is dedicated to the Minsk region, designers had placed there the image of the Nesvizh Castle with folk festivals and theater.

The 200 rubles banknote is dedicated to the Mahiliou region - here we see the image of the Mahiliou Regional Art Museum named after F. Maslennikau. The reverse shows a collage on the theme of crafts and urban development.

The 500 rubles note is dedicated to Minsk. On the bill is the image of the new National Library, as well as collage on the theme of literature.

The obverse of the coin features the image of the state emblem, on the left side are numerals of coin denominations.

The coins of 1 and 2 rubles have national ornament symbolizing the human desire for happiness and freedom.