The Central Bank of Tunisia issued new 5-dinar and 50-dinar bank notes on April 28 to co-circulate and eventually replace the ones released starting in 2011 and 2013. The new ones are printed on paper with a protective coat of varnish applied after printing.

The brown 50-dinar note measures 158 millimeters by 79 millimeters. Its main image is of Hedi Nouira, an important leader in the nation’s independence. He founded the Central Bank of Tunisia and served from 1970 to 1980 as the country’s second prime minister. On the back of the note is an image of the Central Bank of Tunisia’s modernistic headquarters building.

Security features on the note include a watermark of Nouira and the number 50; a three-dimensional windowed security thread in which, when the note is tilted up and down, a double optical effect is produced with the appearance of the number 50 and two bars moving in two opposite directions on a three-dimensional background; a patch in the upper left corner with the number 50 that changes from magenta to green and shows one or two moving rings; and five raised bars to aid the partially sighted and the blind.

The 5-dinar note is predominantly green in color and measures 143 millimeters by 73 millimeters. It depicts Tunisian radical architectural engineer Slaheddine El Amami. He is known for important contributions in the fields of hydraulics and agricultural scientific research. He wrote technical studies on the agricultural capacities of arid coastal islands, drip irrigation, and indigenous hydraulic systems. He also was a proponent of “delinking” Tunisia from the practices of its imperialist-capitalist-colonialist past. The back features an image of the 82-mile-long Roman aqueducts of Zaghouan, one of the longest aqueducts in the Roman Empire. It supplied the city of Carthage with its water.

The 5-dinar note security features are similar to those on the 50-dinar note — a watermark with El Amami and the number 5; a three-dimensional windowed security thread with the denomination and moving bars; the same type of patch but one that changes color from green to blue; and one raised bar on the border indicative of the denomination.

Connect with Coin World:  
Sign up for our free eNewsletter
Access our Dealer Directory  
Like us on Facebook  
Follow us on Twitter