EXPLAINER: How Ghana's cedi notes are produced

Most Ghanaians handle cedi notes every day, but few may know what goes into producing the banknotes they use.

The Bank of Ghana has released a video explaining how the country’s banknotes are produced, revealing the detailed process behind the cedi notes used in everyday transactions.

Before a single banknote reaches a bank, shop or wallet, it goes through months of design work, several printing stages and strict security checks.

Ghana’s current banknote series comprises six denominations, ranging from GH¢5 to GH¢200, with a range of security features designed to make the notes more durable and difficult to counterfeit.

From design to printing

The Bank of Ghana selects companies to print the country’s cedi notes through an international selection process.

The notes are printed in highly secure facilities using modern machinery and trained personnel.

Before printing begins, experts design the banknotes and determine where the various security features will be placed. The entire design process can take about a year.

Cedi notes are made from cotton

Unlike ordinary paper, Ghana’s banknotes are printed on a special material made from 100% cotton fibres, largely sourced from textile production.

Security features are incorporated directly into the material, including watermarks, security threads and ultraviolet fibres.

Some of these features can only be seen when the note is held against light or examined under a special ultraviolet light.

More than 24 colours

The banknotes go through several printing stages.

One of the main stages is offset printing, which uses more than 24 colours to create detailed backgrounds, images and security patterns.

Tiny lettering, known as microtext, is also printed on the notes and can be clearly read under magnification.

Another feature is the see-through image. Designs printed on the front and back of the note line up precisely when it is held against light. The printing process must therefore be extremely accurate for the two parts to match perfectly.

Over one million tiny lenses

The GH¢100 and GH¢200 notes feature special 3D security elements.

When the notes are tilted, the images appear to move and change. This effect is created by more than one million tiny lenses that are difficult to see with the naked eye.

The technology makes the notes significantly harder to reproduce or counterfeit.

Why cedi notes feel different

Another printing process gives cedi notes the raised texture people notice when they touch them.

Thick ink is applied to the notes under high pressure, creating raised areas around the portrait, edges and numbers.

This tactile feature can help people determine whether a banknote is genuine. The GH¢10 and higher denominations also feature special security images that change when the notes are tilted.

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Every note gets a unique number

Towards the end of the production process, each banknote is assigned a unique serial number using specialised ink.

Cameras inspect the serial numbers and other security features as the notes are being produced.

A protective coating is then applied to both sides of the notes to help improve their durability.

Finally, the large printed sheets are cut into individual banknotes and packed in bundles of 100. The notes undergo another round of checks before they are approved for circulation.

The cedi therefore passes through multiple production stages and rigorous security checks before it reaches the public, helping to ensure that the banknotes are durable, secure and difficult to counterfeit.



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