New 500 taka note to be released on Thursday

A new 500 taka note will be released on Thursday (December 4). The note will first be issued from Bangladesh Bank's Motijheel office. Later, other offices will also receive this note. The central bank said this information in a press release on Tuesday (December 2).

The new 500 taka note has a picture of the Central Shaheed Minar on the front and the national flower lotus with leaves and buds in the middle. And the picture of the Supreme Court is placed on the back of the note. The face of the Royal Bengal Tiger has been used as a watermark on the note, below which '500' and the Bangladesh Bank monogram can be seen in electrotype. The color green will predominate throughout the note.

Bangladesh Bank said that Bangladesh Bank will be issuing this note for the first time as part of a new series titled 'Historical and Archaeological Architecture of Bangladesh'. The signature on this note will be that of the current Governor Dr. Ahsan H. Mansur.

The new series plans to print notes of 1000, 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5 and 2 taka. Of these, 1000, 100, 50 and 20 taka notes have already been released.

The note has 10 special features added to it for security. These include color-changing ink—which changes the ‘500’ on the right side from green to blue when the note is shaken. The note also has a red and gold-colored twisted security thread, which makes the ‘500 taka’ text visible when held up to light.

In addition, five raised circles have been added to the bottom right side of the note for the visually impaired. Some parts of the note, including the Shaheed Minar and the value, are printed in intaglio, which feels raised when touched. The note has a hidden ‘500’ text, which is clearly visible when held at a certain angle. Red, blue and green fibers have been added to the paper of the note, which are visible under special light.

Bangladesh Bank has said that although the new 500 taka note is being introduced, all existing old paper notes and coins will remain in use as before.