Macedonia's National bank (NBRM), citing lower long-term costs and stronger anti-counterfeiting devices, will issue new 10- and 50-denar bank notes on May 15.
They will be the country’s first currency issues made out of polymer.
At the same time, the 1996-issues of the same denominations, but made out of cotton paper, will no longer be legal tender. They will be redeemable at banks for free.
The new notes have the same basic designs as their predecessors, but with a transparent window, security threads, micro-text, hidden images and aspects only visible under ultraviolet light.
The 10-denar note has a stylized peacock as one of its central elements, while the 50-denar note draws on a long numismatic history by featuring on one side the reverse of a bronze follis of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius (491 to 518), struck at the Nikomedia (present day Turkey) mint.
Blind or visually impaired people will be able to identify banknotes due to a special feature built in to help tell notes apart.
