THE GROWTH OF OPTICALLY VARIABLE FEATURES ON BANKNOTES

Ian M Lancaster & Astrid Mitchell

Currency Publications / Reconnaissance International, 2A High Street, Shepperton, TW17 9AW,
UK

Keywords: Optically variable devices, diffractive optically variable image devices, hologram,
OVD, DOVID, OVI, optically variable ink, banknote, diffractive foil.

Abstract

Public verification features are part of a matrix of security features on banknotes which allow the
authenticity of legitimate banknotes to be established. They are characterised by being overt and
easy to verify - no examination tool or equipment is required even though the devices themselves
are invariably highly sophisticated. Recent developments, though, combine overt and covert
elements which may require inspection tools.

Traditionally, banknote issuers were reluctant to involve the general public in the checking of
banknotes, preferring to rely on those employed to handle them, experts and machinery to
authenticate the various (normally undisclosed) features. This has now changed as the ability to
counterfeit has moved from those highly skilled in printing to anyone with a scanner and computer
- the incidence of counterfeiting has grown exponentially in the last decade.

Three techniques for what can be categorised as public verification features have been used for
banknotes for many decades and continue to provide a barrier to counterfeiting:
i. the optical effects of watermarks;
ii. the appearance and tactile characteristics of cylinder mould-made paper;
iii. the tactile characteristics of intaglio print.

Since the 1980s the emergence of threads and optically variable features have added to the
available features which can be utilised on banknotes for public verification purposes. OVDs fall
broadly into the two categories of diffraction and colour shift. Products which utilise the former
include holograms, kinegrams™ and other devices originated with similar techniques and bearing
a variety of proprietary names, but collectively known as diffractive optically variable image
devices (DOVIDs1). All share the fundamental characteristic of changing in appearance according
to the viewing angle, providing an effective barrier to the increasingly common use of digital
reprographic technology as a counterfeiting tool as well as a simple means for verification by the
man on the street. They differ, however, in the underlying technology, their specific characteristics
and their functionality, which is what this paper will examine, along with their growth and usage

1
Ian M Lancaster: Holograms and other devices, Intergraf Security Printers’ Conference 1995

34 Optical Security and Counterfeit Deterrence Techniques V, edited by Rudolf L. van Renesse,
Proc. of SPIE-IS&T Electronic Imaging, SPIE Vol. 5310 © 2004 SPIE and IS&T · 0277-786X/04/$15
on the world’s currencies and the current technical developments and trends which are likely to
affect their role in the future.

1. Diffractive Optically Variable Image Devices

The first use of a DOVID on a circulating banknote was in 1988, when a Kinegram® originated
by Landis & Gyr (subsequently renamed OVD Kinegram) and produced on foil by Kurz, appeared
on the Austrian 500 schilling. In the same year, a commemorative Australian $10 was issued with
a similar diffractive device (Catpix), although this did not continue in circulation for long. In
1994, Kuwait adopted DOVIDs on three of its denominations and, in the same year, one appeared
in the form of a continuous stripe on the Bulgarian leva. A year later the first diffractive thread
was introduced to the Venezuelan currency. By 2000, 80 different denominations (10% of which
were commemorative) from just over 30 issuing authorities containing DOVIDs were in
circulation. By mid-2003, this had risen to 150 denominations, virtually all circulating as opposed
to commemorative, from 78 issuing authorities. (see Fig 1)
100 35000
Countries Issuing Circulating Banknotes with

90
30000

No of Banknote DOVIDs, Millions

No of Countries
80
No of Holograms
70 25000

60
DOVIDs

20000

50

15000
40

30 10000

20
5000
10

0 0
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

Fig 1: Growth in use of DOVIDs on banknotes

These figures exclude new banknotes with DOVIDs due for issue in late 2003 and early 2004, of
which there are a known 20 denominations in nine currencies (all but Sudan is currently using
diffractive DOVIDs in one form or another), which will bring the number to 200. In addition,
Vietnam, Morocco, Japan, Madagascar and Indonesia will all be issuing new series of notes in the
next six months. The yen will have a DOVID, but the others listed have not yet announced their

SPIE-IS&T/Vol. 5310 35
 designs or security features. See Appendix 1 for a list of countries issuing banknotes with
DOVIDs.

i. Growth Factors
This upsurge in the use of DOVIDs on banknotes was prompted in part by the rise in counterfeits
produced by digital scanner and copiers and part by developments in foil production and
application technology, which enabled high volumes of foil to be produced cost-effectively and to
be applied at speeds commensurate with the normal throughput of banknote production.

Another key development was high resolution demetallization in register both across and down the
web of diffractive foils. From a security perspective, the complexity of this technology has kept it
in the hands of only a handful of DOVID manufacturers. From a functional perspective, the
technology has facilitated the integration of the feature within the overall banknote design, thus
making DOVIDs more acceptable to a traditionally conservative industry.

The optical microstructures of diffractive optic are reproduced for production purposes primarily
as transfer foils which, when applied to banknotes, adhere on a layer of adhesive up to a few
microns thick. In recent years foils have gained the ability to maintain adhesion, edge definition
and diffraction efficiency throughout the harsh conditions of application and subsequent
circulation. These technology advances have also played a major part in the growth of their use on
banknotes, as have higher volume requirements, with economies of scale in both production and
application lowering prices. Prior to the production of the euro and the huge volumes this
generated, the cost of diffractive foil for banknotes was typically round the $15 per m2 price. This
figure is now closer to $7 to $9 per m2 for high volumes.

ii. Functional Types

A contributor to the rapid adoption of DOVIDs has been their versatility in application – the
optical microstructures can
Thread
be reproduced in a variety of
10%
different materials for
incorporation into banknotes
Patch as foil patches, foil stripes or
Stripe 50% threads, and they can be
40% applied by the paper maker
or the printer. This allows the
issuer to consider various
factors in their decision to
adopt a DOVID, such as
design, functionality,
Fig 2: Application of DOVIDs on Banknotes production requirements and
facilities, and cost. In terms
of the different types of DOVIDs used on banknotes, 50% use patches, 40% use stripes and the

36 SPIE-IS&T/Vol. 5310
remaining 10% use windowed threads (see fig 2). Patches, for example, are applied at the
printworks prior to intaglio printing on equipment with an output of 2,000 to 10,000 sheets per
hour and ranging in price from €500,000 to €2.5m. For those printworks without the volumes, the
will or the finance to fund such an investment, the alternative is the stripe, which was pioneered by
Louisenthal but is now offered by a number of banknote papermakers (including all of those
supplying paper for the euro). In cost terms, there is little difference between patches and stripes.
The yield of stripes per metre of foil is higher than that for patches, and the application process to
reels of paper is faster. However, the natural paper wastage through the subsequent production
process can result in a higher proportion of stripe foil being lost than patches, which are applied at
the end of the production process. Thus the net yield and hence the net cost per finished note is
roughly the same, although stripe is marginally lower cost.

Diffractive thread is inserted by the papermakers; it is markedly cheaper than either patches or
stripe. Unlike the transfer foils for stripes and patches, this is manufactured as a diffractive film
which is processed to form the thread. This film typically costs less than foil and, while conversion
costs are higher, threads involve much lower volumes – an average thread measuring 2-4mm wide
compared with the average stripe which measures 8-10 mm.

The use of diffractive threads represents a merger of technologies to create a new type of DOVID,
pointing the way for one aspect of future development of banknote DOVIDs (see below). The
Bank of England invented windowed thread, with Portals developing the paper production process,
(patented in 1982), the windows making visible to the eye in reflection viewing what had only
previously been visible as a silhouette in transmission viewing. In 1994 Venezuela issued the first
note with a windowed diffractive thread, 1.5 mm wide. Then incremental improvements to the
manufacturing process (papermaking insertion process using short-formers) allowed the
introduction of wider threads, upto 4 mm, making the diffraction effect more noticeable and hence
more suitable for examination. Singapore was the first to use a wide DOVID thread in 1996. (This
was also the first series to incorporate holograms on all denominations, and the first [and only]
series to use not just one but two devices on each note – with a patch on the front and the
windowed thread on the reverse). Other countries to follow suit in adopting wide diffractive thread
include Egypt, Nigeria, Latvia and Hong Kong but the number is likely to rise sharply as more
papermakers install short-formers.

A fourth alternative, and a newcomer, is a diffractive version of Banque de France’s STRAP®

(Système de Transfer Réfléchissant Anti-PhotoCopie). This is applied as a continuous stripe but
appears as a discontinuous series of images, so that it resembles a very wide window thread in
appearance but is closer to stripes in terms of application. The first use for diffractive STRAP was
on the new CFA franc banknotes issued by the BCEAO in 2003. Banque de France has a number
of customers in Africa which already use its non-diffractive STRAP feature, some of whom are
likely to convert to the diffractive version in the future.

SPIE-IS&T/Vol. 5310 37
 iii. Limitations of DOVIDs
It is notable that the use of DOVIDs on banknotes started as much as five years after their first use
as a mass-market anticounterfeit feature (MasterCard, 1983), despite the fact that American
Banknote Holographics was established by its parent company specifically because it believed
holograms had a role on the US dollar bills. Of course, the material failed the Bureau of Engraving
and Printing’s crumple test (a cycle of folding and unfolding) because the image was not visible on
the creased foil, which itself delaminated and tore. This remains an issue: DOVIDs have suffered
from lack of durability; the performance of their optical effects, especially for the lay viewer,
depends on their diffraction efficiency, which can easily be compromised when undergoing the
normal conditions of wear and tear of banknotes in daily use. But as the growth in their use on
banknotes, development of more durable substrates, greater fidelity in reproducing the surface
relief diffractive pattern and better application equipment, as well as the greater variety of
application types, has largely overcome these problems, at least within the effective circulation
time of most banknotes.

Another limitation is the cost of DOVIDs. They add an appreciable cost to the intrinsic banknote
components of paper and ink, even those that contain anticounterfeiting features such as
watermarks and intaglio print features. Nonetheless, in the age of easy copying through computer-
aided design and print, this cost has been judged by 78 of the near-200 issuing authorities to be
worthwhile in the fight against the counterfeiters (because counterfeiters undermine the faith in a
banknote which is ultimately what grants its value).

2. Colour Shift Materials

Creating a material that can be applied to banknotes and which changes colour when the relative
positions of subject, observer or light source are altered has been a major objective for the security
document industry for a number of years – aiming to emulate the colour shifts visible in nature.
The impetus is that, despite the efficacy of DOVIDs, it is thought that a simple one-colour field
change is more obvious to lay viewers. Indeed, a judicious choice of colours with reference to the
sensitivity of the receptors in the human eye makes the observance of the colour shift more
immediate and obvious. Edwin Land2 points out human’s greater perception to one-colour fields
than to complex patterns. But it should be remembered that around 10% of human males suffer
from colour blindness, most commonly confusing red and green.

iv. Optical Thin Films

SICPA’s Optically Variable Ink was the first printable and effective colour-shifting feature used
on a banknote. OVI® first appeared on the Thai Baht 60 commemorative banknote in 1987 and is
now used on over 120 denominations of banknote from 90 issuing authorities. OVI, derived from
colour shift film, comes in five colour shifts exclusive to SICPA for use on banknotes.

2
Numerous papers, summarised in: Edwin H. Land, Experiments in Color Vision, Scientific American, Vol. 200,
No. 5, 1959.

38 SPIE-IS&T/Vol. 5310
The core component which gives optically variable inks their colour change properties are multi-
layer thin films which are produced using insulating dielectric oxides or combinations of
dielectrics and metal layers. The usual method is by means of vacuum evaporation or sputtering,
and for cost reasons the optimal construction is normally three to five layers. The OVI is created
by stripping optically variable thin film from the PET carrier. Once the metallic/dielectric coating
has been stripped away from its carrier web, the particles – known as Optically Variable Pigments
(OVP) – are mixed with an ink carrier. OVP is manufactured by Flex Products and supplied
exclusively for banknote applications to SICPA.

OVI is applied as an intaglio or silk screen ink, and part of its success has been the fact that it
requires no special equipment or processes, requiring only conventional banknote printing
equipment. This is a significant advantage. But in the highly competitive banknote supply world
the position of SICPA and Flex as sole supplier of OVI is a double-headed factor: it contributes to
the security of the ink but many printers and issuers normally prefer to have dual supply, or at
least the possibility of dual supply.

An alternative method of using thin films in banknotes was pioneered by Vadeko and the Bank of
Canada for the Canadian currency. The Optical Security Device (OSD®) is made in a similar
process to that of Flex, with the pigment transferred to the banknotes as a patch or stripe in,
originally, a cold transfer process but now a heat transfer process as well. It is currently in use in
13 different currencies, including those of Denmark and Taiwan.

3. New Technologies

With 78 and 120 issuing authorities respectively using DOVIDs and OVI respectively, these are
the two dominant OVDs in use on banknotes. However, a number of new technologies are under
development to enhance and combine the benefits of these. Mainly these have been reported at
previous SPIE conferences and many will also be covered at the 2004 meeting so we include only
brief descriptions.

v. Cluster Technology
Hueck Folien and November AG have recently introduced their Colour Switch® feature, which
offers machine-readability and exhibits different colour shifts with angle of observation (currently
there are six variations). The technology is based on a thin-layer system in which sub-microscopic
metal clusters are coated to polymer films via direct metallising – a process which is believed to
be faster and cheaper than conventional vacuum coating processes. The optical effect is created by
the selective absorption of light by the cluster-coated nano-particles, depending on the size and
geometry of which, different colour shifts can be obtained. The variation of the wavelengths of
light from these clusters can be controlled and machine-read, thus providing a mechanism for the
inclusion of variable codes. Around 1,000 different codes are currently available.

SPIE-IS&T/Vol. 5310 39
 Colour Switch can be incorporated into hot stamping foils or into security threads, the latter
particularly intended for the banknote market.

vi. Cholesteric Liquid Crystals (CLCs)

The lack of durability of CLCs in the past has limited the use of this technology for banknotes. But
the development of monomer-matrix CLCs has meant that more durable features can now be
created. CLCs incorporated into polymeric films can reflect either left or right-handed circular
polarised light, providing a colour shift effect which is the basis of STEP® from Giesecke &
Devrient, a screen-printed feature, and StarChrome® from Portals, a security thread which is
being used on banknotes in Kazakhstan, Zambia and Bahrain. The advantage of CLC-based
optically variable inks and films over their thin film counterparts is that they are about half the
price. SICPA also offers a CLC-based ink – OASIS® - as an alternative to its OVI.

vii. Combined Colour Shift and Diffraction

While colour shift and diffractive features have their own benefits and drawbacks in terms of
viewability and cost, other developments are taking place aiming to enhance the performance of
public verification features and their inherent complexity (although not necessarily their costs).
These are features which are both colour shift and diffractive.

One such development is NHK Spring’s DiOViS (Diffractive and Interferential Optically Variable
Structure). This consists of a DOVID which is embossed into a polymer film containing
cholesteric liquid crystals, the latter serving as an optically variable reflector that changes colour
with the angle of observation.

Another such development is Lightgate from Flex Products, which comprises embossed
holographic images in which the aluminium reflective layer is substituted by one based on OVP.
LightGate exhibits strong colour shift with angle of observation, along with diffractive effects. It
is not yet available to the market.

And finally, there is the Zero Order Device, which consists of sub-wavelength gratings that do not
diffract on any orders but must be observed in specular reflection. When rotated 90° in plane,
ZODs typically exhibit a red-to-green shift, while the reflected light shows a strong linear
polarisation. Other colour shifts are possible, depending on grating parameters. The ZOD can be
mass-produced using advanced embossing technology.

In the late 1980s the ZOD was prototyped by the Paul Scherrer Institute (now CSEM),
Switzerland, in co-operation with Cardag of Switzerland. The Diffractive Identification Device
(DID), based on this early prototype, has recently been offered to the market by Hologram
Industries, under licence from CSEM. It consists of a high-index grating buried in a low index
matrix, with the visual result that a pattern – geometric or an image – can be seen in two colours
(typically orange and green, but others are under development), which switch as the item is rotated
through 90° in the same plane.

40 SPIE-IS&T/Vol. 5310
Alternatively, OVD Kinegram is currently developing surface relief ZODs and has shown how
profile depth modulation of the diffraction grooves and the use of combination gratings, produce
various novel optical effects. This material is not yet available on the market.

4. The Future

Several factors determine the acceptance and adoption of OVDs on banknotes, including their
acceptance by the public, total production and application cost, durability and their ability to
withstand the predations of counterfeiters. The public now readily accepts DOVIDs in those
countries that use them, as they accept OVI in user countries (although whether they examine them
is another issue that cannot be fully discussed here); costs and durability have been proven to be
acceptable to at least those issuing authorities that use OVDs, and others known to be adopting
them shortly. Which leaves the issue of counterfeit deterrence…

We have referred above to two strands in the development of OVDs which are designed to make
them more effective in this regard. First, there is the incorporation of image features which are
covert. This adds the covert regime, with all that implies to the inspection process – knowing what
to look for and having the tools to view it; incorporation of coded data in the covert images is also
possible, although not yet practised in the banknote world. This covert element can provide a
second level of verification, enabling the DOVID to combine two roles, one for the public and the
other for handlers, issuers and investigators. The theory is that by being invisible to the naked eye
the covert elements make it more difficult to copy the DOVID; undoubtedly true, but the
sophistication of criminal copyists is also on the rise.

The second strand we have already referred to is the combination of technologies. We have
elaborated on the development of DOVID threads (window thread; with hologram; wider threads
– better DOVID viewability); this is a simple example, but it is likely that there will be more
combination devices offered for banknote use in future. Devices that combine colour shift and
diffractive patterns are already available (although not much used), and in combining easy-
recognition and complex patterns they may combine the best of both approaches. However, while
colour shift devices as discussed above are sophisticated products, making what the US Secret
Service has termed “passable product” may not require such sophisticated techniques.
Nonetheless, we anticipate that there will be interest in such combinations from issuing
authorities, purely because they offer several layers of verification.

In brand protection applications holograms are already combined with assayable taggants , such as
DNA, chemical and x-ray markers . Will these have a role in banknotes? Again, this extends the
role of the overt into the covert regime, with even more sophisticated analysis tools needed. And
although some of these taggants are approved for in-food use, there may well be resistance to their
use on a piece of paper handled by every member of the public and carried on their person for long

SPIE-IS&T/Vol. 5310 41
 periods of time. (cf the accusation that ECB was using GM-modified cotton in its banknote paper,
despite the almost incidental use of that particular cotton strain.)

Overt security features that are obvious to the public will remain a driver for banknote issuers.
Probably with increased public education and, given the heightened security awareness among the
public these days, with improved inspection by the public – although we remain sceptical that they
will ever spot more than the most obvious fakes. This points to a continuing rise in the use of
OVDs on banknotes because they certainly attract public attention, if not examination.

5. Conclusion

The use of optically variable devices on banknotes as a public verification feature is growing. This
is being driven by advances in both the underlying technologies – diffractive and colour shift, and
the combination of these – and in the methods of application or incorporation as threads, foils or
films.

The third factor driving the growth of these features is the growing trend amongst banknote issuers
to open up an additional front in the battle against counterfeiting – namely, by using the public.
Diffractive and colour shift features are hard to imitate or replicate, they are simple to explain and
communicate, they require no special readers or verifiers and they enable the active participation
of the acceptor (ie the general public). Such features are providing banknote issuers with the
means to promote active inspection of their notes. The continuing development and improvement
of such features are also providing banknote suppliers with the opportunity to keep ahead of the
counterfeiters and each other.

42 SPIE-IS&T/Vol. 5310
Appendix 1
Banknote Issuing Authorities to use DOVIDs3

Country/Issuing Currency Denomination(s) Method Year of Issue

Authority
Afghanistan Afghani 500; 1000 Stripe 2002

Albania Lek 5,000; Patch 2001

Algeria Dinar 1,000 Stripe 1998
Armenia Dram 20,000 Patch 1999
50,000 Stripe 2001
Australia Dollar 10 (commemorative) Patch 1988
Bahamas Dollar 100 Patch 2000
Bahrain Dinar 5; Patch 1999
10; 1998
20 1998, 2001
Bangladesh Tak 10; 50; 100; 500 Thread 2002
Belize Dollar 100 Patch 1997
Bermuda Dollar 50 Patch 2000
Brazil Real 20 Stripe 2002
Bulgaria Lev 5; 10; 20; 50; Stripe 1999
100** 2003**
Burundi Franc 2000 Patch 2001
Cape Verde Escudo 2,000; Patch 1999
5,000 2000
Cambodia Riel 50,000 Patch 2002
Cayman Islands Dollar 100 Patch 1999
China Yuan 50 Patch 1999
100 (commemorative) 2000
Croatia Kuna 50; 100 Stripe 2002
200 Patch 2003
Denmark Kroner 100; 200 Patch 2002
50; 500; 1,000** 2003**
Egypt Pound 20; 50; 100 Thread 2001
Eritrea Nafka 5, 10; 20; 50; 100 Stripe 1997
Estonia Kroon 25; Stripe 2002
100; 1999
500 Patch 1997, 2000
European Central Bank Euro 5; 10; 20 Stripe 2002
50; 100; 200; 500 Patch 2002
England & Wales Pound 5; Patch 2002
10; 2000
20 1999
Faroe Islands Krone 100 Patch 2003
200; 500; 1,000**
Fiji Dollar 10; 20; 50 Patch 2002

3
Source: Holography News, August 2003

SPIE-IS&T/Vol. 5310 43
 Country/Issuing Currency Denomination(s) Method Year of Issue
Authority
Ghana Cedis 10,000; 20,000 Patch 2002
Guatemala Quetzal 100 Stripe 2001
Guinea Franc 5,000 Thread 1998
Guyana Dollar 500; 1,000 Patch 2000
Hungary Forint 2,000; Stripe 1998, 2000, 2002
5,000; 1999
10,000; 1997, 1999
20,000 2001
Jordan Dinar 20; Patch 2003
50 1999, 2003
Iraq Dinar 10,000 Stripe 2002
Kuwait Dinar 5; 10; 20 Patch 1994
Kyrgyzstan Som 500; 1,000 Patch 2000
Latvia Lat 5 Thread 1997, 2001
Lebanon Livre 50,000; 100,000 Stripe 1999
Lithuania Lit 200; Stripe 1997
500 2000
Malawi Kwacha 100; Stripe 2001
200; Stripe 2002
500 Patch 2002
Malaysia Ringgit 50 Stripe 1998, 2000
100 1999, 2000
Malta Lira 2; 5; 10 Patch 2001
Mauritius Rupee 2,000 Patch 1999
Mongolia Tugrik 10,000 Patch 1999, 2002
Nepal Rupee 250 Patch 1997
New Zealand Dollar 10 (commemorative) Patch 2000
Nicaragua Cordoba 500 Stripe 2003
Nigeria Naira 100; 200; 500 Thread 2001
Northern Ireland: Pound
First Trust Bank 50; 100 Patch 1998
Northern Bank 50; 100 2000
Norway Kroner 100; Stripe 2003
200; 2002
500 1999
Oman Rial 5; 10; Stripe 2002
20 2000
Paraguay Guaranie 100,000 Patch 1998
Poland Zloty 200 Patch 1995
Qatar Riyal 1; 5; 10; 100; Patch 2003
500 1996, 2003
Rwanda Franc 5,000 Patch 1999
Saudi Arabia Riyal 20 (commemorative) Patch 1999
200 (commemorative)
500 2003
Scotland: Pound 1 (commemorative) Patch 1997
Royal Bank of Scotland

44 SPIE-IS&T/Vol. 5310
 Country/Issuing Currency Denomination(s) Method Year of Issue
Authority
Hong Kong: Dollar 1,000 Thread 2001
Bank of China 20; 50; 100; 500; 1,000** Thread 2003**
HSBC
Standard Chartered
Singapore Dollar 2 (commemorative); Patch/threa 2000
2; 5; 10; 50; 100; 1,000; d 1999
10,000;
25 1996
Slovakia Korun 5,000 Patch 2000
Slovenia Tolarjev 5,000; Patch 2002
10,000 Stripe 2000
Sudan Dinar 2,000; 5,000** Stripe 2003 **
Swaziland Emalangeni 50; Stripe 1996, 2003
100; 2003
200 1998
Sweden Kroner 100; 500 Stripe 2001
1,000** 2003 **
Switzerland Franc 10, 20, 50; 100; 200; 1,000 Patch 1997
Taiwan Dollar 2,000 Patch 2002
Takikistan Somoni 20; 50; 100 Stripe 2000
Tanzania Shilingi 1,000; 2,000; 5,000; Stripe 2003
10,000 1997, 2003
Thailand Baht 50 (commemorative); Patch 2000
500 (commemorative) Patch 1996
Uganda Shilling 10,000; Patch 1995
10,000; Stripe 2001
20,000 Stripe 1999
UAE Dirham 100** Patch 2003**
500; Stripe 1999
1,000 1998
WAMU CFA (franc) 10,000 STRAP 2003
1,000; 2,000; 5,000** 2003**
Venezuela Bolivar 10,000 Thread 2002
Vietnam Dong 500,000; 1,000,000; Patch 1998
5,000,000 (discontinued)
Yemen Rial 500** Stripe 2003**
1,000 1999
Yugoslavia Dinar 200; Patch 2001
5,000 Patch 2002
Serbia Dinar 1,000 Patch 2003
Zimbabwe Dollar 500 Stripe 2001

** Not yet in circulation – late 2003 or 2004

SPIE-IS&T/Vol. 5310 45