The Central Bank of Yemen introduced a new 250-rial (US$1.20) note on 14 November 2009 with the following specifications:

General and Technical Specifications:
A- The size is 158 mm x 75 mm.
B - There is a water mark depicting the coat of arms of the Republic of Yemen located on the right hand side of the face of the banknote.
C- The YR 250 banknote has many features and elements enabling easy detection of its authenticity. They include:
1. The script is prominently printed on the banknote (intaglio) , giving it a distinctive roughness to the touch. The banknote shows the denomination value, the name of the Central Bank of Yemen and the signature of the Bank Governor.
2. There is a star at the bottom of the face of the banknote, half of which is brown while the other half is white.
3. The dome of the mosque appears in a uniform pink color when looking at the banknote directly. But if the banknote is slightly tilted, the color of the background of the dome changes into the colors of a rainbow and shows the denomination value.
4. When light is shed on the back of the banknote the thread stripe changes from a winding zigzagging silver form into dark straight broad black filament and the denomination value appears in white bright color all along the filament.
5. There are modern methods of detecting the authenticity of the banknote, such as by using counting and sorting machines or when the banknote is exposed to ultra violet rays.

Specifications of the Face of the Banknote:
A. A general view of Al-Saleh mosque with its name written at the bottom of the picture.
B. The phrase " Central Bank of Yemen" printed at the top center of the banknote, followed by "Central Bank of Yemen" then "Signature" above the word "Governor".
C. The denomination value is prominently printed in Arabic numbers at the bottom right hand side of the banknote. On the top right hand side of the banknote there are Islamic geometrical designs.
D. Letter-Press printing of the serial numbers printed in red ink at the top right hand side of the paper and in black ink at the bottom left hand side of the banknote.
E. Date of printing 1430 H - 2009 in Arabic.

Specifications of the back of the banknote:
A. A picture of the Mukalla Khor with its name depicted at the bottom of the Khor.
B. The name of the Central Bank of Yemen in English at the top center of the banknote.
C. Printing of the value of the denomination (250) in Arabic numbers at the top left hand side of the banknote and the bottom right hand side of the banknote.
D. Decorative Islamic geometric designs.
E. The back of the banknote contains several advanced security features some of them can be easily recognized by the man in the street, but others can only be detected by counting and sorting machines or when exposed to ultraviolet rays.

Courtesy of Richard Miranda, Hamdy Alsamt, and Luca Maria Peri.

Tags: Yemen