Banknotes

A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commercial banks, which were legally required to redeem the notes for legal tender (usually gold or silver coin) when presented to the chief cashier of the originating bank. These commercial banknotes were only traded at face value in the market served by the issuing bank. Commercial banknotes have primarily been replaced by national banknotes issued by central

thumb|Machine-made watermark on a 19th century letter A watermark is an identifying image or pattern in paper that appears as varying shades of light and dark when viewed by either transmitted light or reflected light. These patterns are created from variations in the thickness or density of the paper. Watermarks have historically been used on postage stamps, currency, and other official documents to discourage counterfeiting. There are two primary methods of producing watermarks in paper: the dandy roll process and the more complex cylinder mould process.

thumb|Notaphily banknotes

pattern of symbols incorporated into a number of banknote designs

Encyclopedia of polymer banknote

EuroBillTracker (EBT) is a website designed for tracking euro banknotes. It was inspired by the US currency bill tracking website Where's George? The aim is to record as many notes as possible to know details about their distribution and movements, follow it up, like where a note has been seen in particular, and generate statistics and rankings, for example, in which countries there are more tickets. EuroBillTracker has registered over 243 million notes with a combined total value of more than €4.4 billion as of February 2026.

Colnect Collectors Club Community is a website containing wiki-like collectables catalogs. It allows collectors to manage their personal collection using these catalogs and automatically match their swap/wish-lists with those of other collectors. Colnect provides a marketplace dedicated to buying and selling collectibles. Colnect's phone cards catalog is the biggest in the world.

security feature of banknotes

proposed design of bank notes

numismatics collector's items

Catalogue of banknotes

example of a banknote design

paper negotiable instrument in China

classical chemistry demonstration

Banknote replacement