Lesotho to issue new notes in March 2011

According to a Sunday Express article, on 26 November 2010, at a celebration marking its 30th anniversary, the Central Bank of Lesotho launched a new set of banknotes aimed at fighting the spread of counterfeits. According to a press release dated 5 January 2011, the new notes are expected to hit the streets in March 2011 and will eventually replace the existing notes. The new banknotes feature a portrait of the three royal family members: the current king, His Majesty Letsie III is in the middle, his father King Moshoeshoe II is on the left, with the founder of the Basotho nation, King Moshoeshoe I, on the right. The famous Basotho hat, the mokorotlo, is also visible on the new notes as well as the Lesotho coat of arms.


CBL B22 (PNL): 10 maloti (US$0.90)
Red and yellow. Front: Mokorotlo hat registration device; King Moshoeshoe II, King Letsie III, and King Moshoeshoe I; coat of arms. Back: Flowers; mokorotlo hat registration device. Windowed security thread with demetalized CBL and four-leaf clovers. Watermark: Coat of arms, 10, and Cornerstones. Printer: (TDLR). 130 x 70 mm. 2010. Signature 8. Intro: 01.03.2011.


CBL B23 (PNL): 20 maloti (US$1.80)
Purple and light blue. Front: Mokorotlo hat registration device; King Moshoeshoe II, King Letsie III, and King Moshoeshoe I; coat of arms. Back: Thatch-roofed round houses; mokorotlo hat registration device. Windowed security thread with demetalized CBL and four-leaf clovers. Watermark: Coat of arms, 20, and Cornerstones. Printer: (TDLR). 135 x 70 mm. 2010. Signature 8. Intro: 01.03.2011.


CBL B24 (PNL): 50 maloti (US$4.55)
Violet. Front: Mokorotlo hat registration device; King Moshoeshoe II, King Letsie III, and King Moshoeshoe I; coat of arms. Back: Men on horseback; mokorotlo hat registration device. Windowed security thread with demetalized CBL and four-leaf clovers. Watermark: Coat of arms, 50, and Cornerstones. Printer: (TDLR). 138 x 70 mm. 2010. Signature 8. Intro: 01.03.2011.


CBL B25 (PNL): 100 maloti (US$9.05)
Green. Front: Mokorotlo hat registration device; King Moshoeshoe II, King Letsie III, and King Moshoeshoe I; coat of arms. Back: Shepard with flock; mokorotlo hat registration device. Windowed security thread with demetalized CBL and four-leaf clovers. Watermark: Coat of arms, 100, and Cornerstones. Printer: (TDLR). 140 x 70 mm. 2010. Signature 8. Intro: 01.03.2011.

Courtesy of Thomas Krause and Hermann Huber.