PHNOM PENH: The 15,000-riel banknote issued in 2019 to mark the 15th anniversary of His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni’s Coronation Day on 20 October 2004, has received the ‘Best New Banknote’ award at Reconnaissance International’s 18th High Security Printing Asia Conference held in Yokohama, Japan.

The news of this award was shared by the Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC), Chea Chanto, in a letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday, 8 April, and which was quoted by the Press and Quick Reaction Unit of the Office of the Council of Ministers.

Governor Chea Chanto stated that the commemorative 15,000 Riel note was recognized for its outstanding technical excellence in both design and security. He added that the Vice President of Landqart AG of Switzerland, Antonio Cesario Ricdo, paid a visit to Cambodia on 6 April, on behalf of Reconnaissance International, to deliver the 2019 Asia-Pacific Best New Banknote Award to the NBC.

The High Security Printing Asia Conference gives out a series of awards, including ‘Best New Banknote’, ‘Best New Series’ and ‘Best New Commemorative Banknote’. The 15,000-riel note is purple, pink and blue in color, and 170-mm-long and 75-mm-wide.

The note depicts a portrait of His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni on the front and a picture of His Majesty and his parents on the back, along with the sentence “Congratulations on the 15th Anniversary of the Coronation of His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni (29 October 2004-29 October 2019).”