A new Maldives 5-rufiyaa bank note was introduced by the Maldives Monetary Authority on May 10. It will enter circulation in July. The announcement came as a bit of a surprise because last year the authority said this denomination, the equivalent of only 6.5 U.S. cents, would be in the form of a coin.

The 5-rufiyaa note is the lowest paper currency denomination in the Republic of Maldives. The other current series of notes, introduced in January 2016 are 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 rufiyaa. All notes measure 150 by 70 millimeters, are made of the Safeguard polymer substrate, and are printed by De La Rue. 

Gold coin resistance at U.S. Mint and a deceptive but detectable counterfeit Indian Head cent: Another column in the June 12 Coin World details the discovery of what seemed to be a rare 1917 French Indo-China 10-cent piece.

The new issue is designed by Abdulla Nashaath, who created all of the notes introduced last year, as well. The theme of the series is “Maldives and the Maldivian people.”

The face side of the 5-rufiyaa note has the distinction of portraying a man without a face visible in the design (the note design fades out to featureless above the chin and jawline). It is said to be the famed Maldivian soccer player and national team captain Ali Ashfaq, also known as Dhangadey, who is apparently easy for his countrymen to identify from the neck down. The sport was chosen as a theme because of its wide popularity as both a spectator and participatory sport.

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The conch shell on the back of the note represents a method used by the government in bygone days to gather people to communicate with them. It is meant to serve as an example of how far things have progressed, with so many modern modes of communication now available.