This has got to be one of the best images on a currency note. At least it's one of the best one I recall seeing ...
I like how that olive branch looks a bit like a big stick. And a sleeping lion. Very nice piece, I'll pull out my entry a bit later... Dave
I'm with Winged. I always thought the $5 Educational note was the most artistic note I'd ever seen. Guy
Well, then we'll need Ina and the shark from the Cook Islands. Ina was the love of Tinirau, the god of the ocean who lived on a floating island. One day Ina jumped into the sea in search of Tinirau, but since the sea was so big, she was continually tossed back to shore by its gigantic waves. She enlisted in some fish to help her swim, but they were too small to carry her, so in her frustration, she beat them with a stick, permanently marking their bodies. This is how the angelfish got their black stripes. Eventually a shark agreed to carry her on his back. For the journey she took some coconuts with her, for food and drink. After some time, Ina became thirsty, so the shark raised his dorsal fin so that she could crack a coconut and partake of its milk. This she did and it satisfied her thirst. She then relieved herself on the shark, who wasn't too happy about that and warned her not to do this again. This is why islanders complain that the shark meat smells of urine. Again Ina became thirsty and this time she cracked the coconut on the shark's head. One version of the story says that this is how the hammerhead shark came about. Another story says that this is why there is a bump on a shark's head, which is to this day called Ina's bump. Reeling from the pain, the shark tossed Ina off his back dived below the waters, leaving her to flounder in the sea (one version says he ate her, but that isn't the nicest end to the story). Finally Tekea the Great, the king of all sharks rose from the bottom of the sea and rescued Ina, He then carried her to Tinirau's island where they were finally reunited.
Hello This is not really a bank note, nor is it of naked women, but it might serve the purpose of this thread.
I have to go with the Educationals for U.S. notes. But this one from Dominican Republic is one of my favorite foreign bank notes. And it seems to fit the ongoing theme. I also like the Hawaiian Certificate of Deposit. These are both proofs from ABNCo so I'm not sure they these were ever issued.
WL, I thought this vignette looked familiar. It appears on a stock certificate for the International Nickel Company. Note the book at her feet has a different title.
I enjoy old French banknotes....these are in my collection. 1,000 Francs Demeter - 1943 - Vichy Republic 5,000 Francs Victoire - 1942 petronius :smile
....but, at last, I'm still Italian Art of Italian Renaissance on banknotes 20,000 Lire - Tiziano - Amor sacro e Amor profano (original painting at Galleria Borghese - Rome) 100,000 Lire - Caravaggio - Canestra di frutta (original painting at Pinacoteca Ambrosiana - Milan) 500,000 Lire - Raffaello - La Scuola di Atene (original painting at Palazzi Apostolici - Vatican State, Rome) petronius