When banknotes cause international incidents - The Saudi Arabia 2020 20 Riyal banknote

Anyone who argues that paper money has become irrelevant likely hasn't heard the tale of the 2020 Saudi Arabia G20 Commemorative banknote. In preparation for hosting the G20 conference in 2020, Saudi Arabia issued a commemorative note designed around the forum's logo. The obverse, following the basic design structures of the Saudi sixth series banknotes, concerned nobody. But the reverse, showing a world map highlighting the G20 nations, ignited furious tensions. For reasons apparently unknown, the map depicted the regions of Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh as independent from India. Controversy over the political authority of these regions has long raged between India and Pakistan. Interpreting it as a sign of solidarity, some Kashmiris expressed gratitude for the note, but it enraged India and led to a diplomatic clash, culminating in India's threat to pull Prime Minister Narenda Modi out of the G20. After some negotiations, Saudi Arabia agreed to pull the note from circulation, though the Saudi Arabia Monetary Authority's website still features it as a "Special Issue."

Obverse:


Portrait of King Salman, or King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to right - Watermark of portrait to middle left
Top left: Serial number, which also appears on top right extending down
Top middle: مؤسسة النقد العربي السعودي - "Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority"
Just beneath top middle: law of monetary authority dated "١٣٧٩/٧/١" Hegira
Bottom middle (large type): عشرون ريالا - Twenty Rials
Left and right of bottom middle (small type): Names of the Minister of Finance - وزير المالية - and the Governor - المحافظ
Monetary unit: ٢٠ or twenty, which appears in lower extreme left and right corners
Left, 3/4 to the bottom: Date in Hegira: ١٤٤٢ (1442) or 2020

Reverse:


World map displaying G20 countries in dark brownish black.

Detail of reverse map depicting Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh as independent from India:


As of this writing, 20 Saudi Riyals equals $5.33 US.

Despite press announcements of the note's withdrawal, it seems readily available on the secondary market. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority has also issued its first polymer bill as of the sixth series, beginning with a reissue of the 5 Riyal note.

Banknotes rarely appear in international news, but this story demonstrates that currency can still cause controversy.

 

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Oooops. Political faux pas.

 

I wonder what the map of the area in and around the city of Jerusalem is depicted as a part of?

 

Did China get upset about Taiwan?

 

Anyone who argues that paper money has become irrelevant are typically from the Better Than Cash Alliance (BTCA) gang who continue to laud their efforts to deprive you & me from simple cash transactions (& any sense of privacy). This is the same lobby group who have continued to argue how much cleaner/healthier credit/debit card transactions are (despite no concrete evidence). What's worse is that BTCA pioneers are the falling down wealthy 'egg-heads' who pushed Bitcoin/credit card commerce so successfully (via Youtube). Most of these folks have staff to manage their portfolios & send out posts about the end of cash, etc. They couldn't give a '___' about political missteps in a banknote's design but they love this kind of dirt.

The only thing that sucks about BTCA's success is that it IS typically these same Bitcoin investors/geeks who get tired of virtual wealth (sitting in code) & typically crave some 'bling' for their savvy investments. They end up buying-in on coins/rare currency (real estate, etc) for something concrete so that all of us regular folk/collectors (or people who want a roof over their heads) end up paying an arm&leg for regular banknotes (or homes & coins) that were pretty inexpensive (or accessible) just a few short years ago. This REALLY sucks for the brainwashed younger generation who continue to follow the BTCA down their slippery slope of digital transactions b/c math & handling cash is inconvenient (ha ha). Yes, it is ironic that those who have the most to lose are those who feed this insipid ideology (the never ending cycle of madness).

But yeah, banknote designs should be very careful in what they portray.