As part of its new family of bank notes, the Central Reserve Bank of Peru issued new 20- and 50-sol notes on July 20 that the bank says incorporate modern designs, new themes and renewed security features.

The focus of the new series is on people of the 20th century who have had a significant influence on art, literature, history and science. It also highlights the theme of biodiversity, including motifs of Peruvian flora and fauna. Designed by De La Rue, they are printed on cotton paper.

The face of the yellow-brown 20-sol note portrays José María Arguedas Altamirano (1911 to 1969), a novelist, poet, and anthropologist considered one of the most notable figures of 20th century Peruvian literature. Other features include a watermark showing the novelist’s face and the denomination in numbers in a triangle, a color-changing security thread, and a geometric design printed with color-changing ink. On the right side, below the numerical value is a hidden number 20 that is seen when the note is angled toward a light source.

The back is designed in vertical format and shows a condor and the Cantuta flower. It also has Peru’s coat of arms and the denomination in numbers and letters in two colors.

The face of the red 50-sol note bears the portrait of historian and researcher of the Andean world, María Rostworowski Tovar (1915 to 2016). One of her most important works is Historia del Tahuantinsuyu, in which she explains the rise and fall of the Incas. A watermark that shows the researcher’s face and the denomination in numbers inside a triangle is on the left. A brown security thread shows figures in motion when the banknote is tilted. There is a geometric design in the lower right corner printed with ink that changes color from gold to green, and a 50 in the same hidden number device as on the 20-sol note.

The vertical back of the 50-sol note has images of a jaguar and the Puya Raimondi, a 30-foot tall flowering plant that is known as the “Queen of the Andes.” It also shows the coat of arms and the denomination in numbers and letters in two colors.

The new notes also incorporate security elements recognizable by equipment that identifies and processes cash, and the denominations are printed in a manner that can be recognized by the blind.

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