The new banknotes were designed by the Austrian who designed the euro (RFE/RL)
29 December 2005 -- Azerbaijan's central bank said today that a reweighted currency with a new design will begin circulating on New Year's Day.
The new banknotes were created by Robert Kalina, the Austrian who designed the European Union's currency, the euro. The six denominations of banknotes will feature a map of Azerbaijan on the back side and themes from Azerbaijani history and culture on the front.
Starting on 1 January, the central bank will downsize the manat's nominal value by cutting off three zeros and dividing by five, reducing 5,000 manat to just 1 manat.
(AFP)