Kitsch value sky-high for faulty bank note

19 November 2013

BEIRUT: Lebanons soon-to-be-issued commemorative LL50,000 bill may have drawn derision for its gaudy color scheme and spelling error, but the hubbub over the note has only increased demand for it, a source at the Central Bank told The Daily Star Monday. The source echoed official bank denials that it was to blame for problems with the note, faulting the Britain-based company that printed it.

The bill became a national joke when a preview was revealed last week that clearly showed Independence written according to its English spelling on the French side of the note, which is being released in a limited edition to commemorate 70 years of Lebanese independence.

Aida Zayat, owner of a money exchange shop in Downtown Beirut, told The Daily Star Monday that she had not yet seen the new bill but that it was normal for people to want the notorious note, which is now a collectors item.

Even if it wasnt faulty, people would still run after something new, she said.

Media reports cited British company De La Rue, one of the worlds largest currency printers, as the party responsible for printing the notes.

The source from the bank insisted that the Central Bank had written the French correctly, adding that the bank would go ahead with plans to issue the bank notes despite the spelling mistake.

Central Bank governor Riad Salameh said he regretted the mistake but that the notes would go into circulation next Friday anyway, when Lebanon marks the end of French colonial rule in 1943.

The new note will be the same size as the current LL50,000 bill.

He told the local television station MTV last week that a British printing company was to blame for the spelling mistake and confirmed the bank would still produce the bill, of which only 50,000 notes will be distributed.

De La Rue spokesperson Robert Hutchinson told The Daily Star that he could not comment on the matter, nor could he confirm that the Central Bank was a client.

We cant comment on any issue, he said, adding that the printer would need the clients approval to disclose any information.

The bill is blue with an emblem of the cedar tree and the Lebanese flag, as well as the Rashaya Castle and a map of the country.

One side is printed in Arabic and the other in French, with 70 years of independence printed on both sides. The note is made from polymer, a material that is difficult to counterfeit.

The new design garnered a lot of attention much of it critical on social media, although a protest planned for Monday in front of the Central Bank apparently fell through.

A kid messing with powerpoint can draw better!! read one tweet.

We have been humiliated!! read another tweet in Arabic.

Design students from the American University of Beirut criticized the note on Facebook, with one post reading: What a waste of money! We should start a public shaming campaign.

Several mock designs also appeared on social media websites, as did sarcastic ideas for a new LL100,000 note.

Some of the mock designs seemed as though they were drawn by a child with inharmonious colors and images and included obvious spelling mistakes.

Others joked that the bill was an accurate reflection of the dysfunctional Lebanese state.