BOT launches commemorative banknotes to celebrate Thai Queen's 84th birthday

BANGKOK, August 3 (TNA) - The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has issued 500-baht commemorative banknotes to celebrate the auspicious occasion of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit’s 84th birthday anniversary on August 12, 2016. BOT Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob told reporters that the commemorative banknotes, totally worth 20 million baht, will be available at nationwide branches of the Government Savings Bank (GSB), the Bank of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC), the Government Housing Bank (GHB) and the Islamic Bank of Thailand as of August 11 onwards. Veerathai acknowledged it is the first time that commemorative banknotes will also be available through 10,000 ATM booths across the country to allow people to access more easily to the commemorative banknotes, normally offered for exchange through banks’ counters. The reverse of the 500-baht commemorative banknotes depicts the portrait of Her Majesty the Queen in the Thai Boromphiman traditional dress, as well as the portraits of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej and other members of the Royal Family in their childhood. The pictures of Yanlipao traditional Thai basketry, a product of Her Majesty the Queen’s Foundation of the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations and Related Technique, and flowers named after Her Majesty the Queen, including Queen Sirikit Cattleya Orchid and Queen Sirikit Rose, are also illustrated on the banknotes. Besides, security features of the commemorative banknotes include fluorescent ink used to print a radial orange pattern behind the portrait of Her Majesty the Queen and the rose, which will glow yellow under ultraviolet light. According to the BOT chief, it took about one year to design the patterns of the 500-baht commemorative banknote. (TNA)