19 Currency Designs That Were Pulled from Circulation for Strange Reasons
Money might seem like a straightforward concept, but the history of currency is filled with bizarre mishaps, controversial designs, and downright strange decisions. From accidentally printing the wrong landmarks to inadvertently featuring political enemies, central banks worldwide have made some remarkable blunders when it comes to their nation’s cash.
These mistakes often lead to rapid recalls, making the flawed notes incredibly valuable to collectors—like finding a rare misprint baseball card, but with actual spending power. Here is a list of 19 currency designs that were hastily withdrawn from circulation for some truly peculiar reasons.
The Typo Tenner
Australia’s first $10 polymer note contained a humiliating national embarrassment—the word ‘responsibility’ was misspelled as ‘responsibilty’ in microprint quoting author David Unaipon. The error appeared about 46 million times before anyone noticed.
The Reserve Bank initially denied the mistake until magnified evidence proved overwhelming, forcing them to correct future printings while earlier notes became collector’s items.
Canada’s Maple Mystery
Canada’s 2013 $20 bill featured what botanists quickly identified as a Norwegian maple leaf rather than the iconic Canadian maple that appears on the national flag. This botanical blunder caused an uproar among Canadian naturalists and patriots alike.
The Bank of Canada awkwardly claimed it was a stylized maple but eventually replaced the foreign foliage on subsequent printings.
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The Devil’s Face
Canada’s 1954 Devil’s Face $1 bill contained an unfortunate optical illusion—the Queen’s hair appeared to form a grinning devil’s face when viewed from certain angles. Religious groups protested vehemently, claiming it was either satanic symbolism or a communist plot.
The Bank of Canada quickly modified the plates to remove the devilish appearance by darkening the areas around the Queen’s hair.
The Dictator’s Revenge
Romania’s 2005 commemorative currency featured Patriarch Miron Cristea, who seemed a natural choice as the country’s first prime minister. Unfortunately, historians quickly pointed out Cristea was responsible for stripping citizenship from Jewish Romanians and implementing horrific anti-Semitic policies.
The Romanian National Bank withdrew the notes after international condemnation, claiming they were unaware of this rather significant historical detail.
The Forbidden Temple
Thailand’s 10 baht notes from 1988 contained a barely noticeable architectural error—a temple from neighboring Cambodia appeared in the background instead of a Thai structure. The mistake inflamed tensions between the historically rival nations at an already sensitive time.
Thai authorities quickly removed the notes from circulation, fearing the design could cause diplomatic incidents or even reignite border disputes.
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The Vanishing Islands
In 2002, the European Central Bank printed euros with generic bridges that supposedly didn’t represent any specific European landmarks to avoid favoritism. An enterprising Dutch architect later built these fictional bridges in a housing development outside Rotterdam, effectively making the currency depict real Dutch structures.
While not officially withdrawn, this architectural trolling caused considerable embarrassment for the ECB.
The Hidden Message
Kuwait’s 1968 currency set contained a subtle problem only discovered after months in circulation—when folded a certain way, the Arabic decorative script formed words that could be interpreted as support for Israel. This unintentional political statement during heightened Middle East tensions forced an immediate recall.
The Kuwaiti dinar was completely redesigned, making the original notes extremely rare and valuable to collectors today.
The Vulgar Vignette
Hungary’s 2020 commemorative 1000 forint featured a microscopic error where an artist’s signature in the background ornamentation appeared to spell out a profane word when viewed upside down. The unfortunate coincidence wasn’t noticed until after thousands entered circulation.
The Hungarian National Bank denied the resemblance but quietly modified future printings while collectors eagerly sought out the swearing forint.
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The Currency Coup
Venezuela’s 2007 redesigned bolivar notes removed three zeros but also accidentally featured a map that included disputed territory claimed by neighboring Guyana. The diplomatic furor led to threats of economic sanctions and border mobilizations.
Venezuela halted distribution and hastily created new plates with an ambiguous border region, but not before thousands of the geopolitically problematic notes entered circulation.
The Microscope Scandal
Singapore’s 1990 $50 note celebrated scientific achievement with an image of a scientist using a microscope. Unfortunately, the security printing company reversed the microscope image, showing light coming from the viewing lens rather than the illumination source—a mistake any scientist would immediately notice.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore withdrew the notes after being mercilessly mocked by the scientific community.
The Plagiarized Portrait
The Philippines’ 2010 100-peso note featured a rare endemic bird that sharp-eyed naturalists recognized as being copied directly from a foreign photographer’s work without permission. The copyright violation sparked an international lawsuit, forcing the Filipino central bank to modify the design.
Banking officials attempted to claim it was a different but similar-looking bird before eventually admitting the error.
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The Phallic Factory
In 1991, Jordan released a 1-dinar note featuring what was meant to be an ordinary industrial smokestack. Unfortunately, from certain angles, the factory chimney and surrounding structures created an unmistakably phallic appearance.
Conservative religious leaders demanded its withdrawal, claiming it offended public decency. The Central Bank of Jordan hastily replaced it with a less architecturally suggestive design.
The Mirrored Minaret
Indonesia’s 2016 50,000 rupiah note contained a subtle but significant error—a famous mosque’s minaret was shown as a mirror image of its actual structure. Religious leaders considered the inaccurate depiction of a sacred building disrespectful.
Bank Indonesia initially denied any mistake before a side-by-side comparison with the actual mosque proved the error, leading to a corrected reissue.
The Inking Disaster
The United Kingdom’s 2016 £5 polymer note encountered a strange problem—the ink would rub off the serial numbers under certain conditions. This wasn’t just an aesthetic problem but a security nightmare, as serial numbers are crucial for tracking counterfeit bills.
The Bank of England stubbornly denied any issues until multiple banks reported problems identifying legitimate notes, forcing a manufacturing adjustment.
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The Invisible President
North Korea’s 2009 commemorative 100-won note featured a smiling Kim Il-sung, but a watermark meant to show the same leader appeared completely blank when held to light. The printing error was interpreted as disrespectful to the nation’s founder.
North Korean authorities not only recalled the currency but allegedly executed the bank officials responsible for approving the defective design.
The Tactile Failure
Australia’s 2018 $50 note contained an embarrassing typo in its microprint—the word responsibility was again misspelled, but this time as responsibilty in a quote from politician Edith Cowan. Even more remarkably, this was the second time Australia made exactly the same spelling error on its currency.
The Reserve Bank of Australia discovered the mistake only after 46 million notes were in circulation.
The Military Mishap
Pakistan’s 2006 5-rupee coin depicted a government building that, due to a die-cutting error, appeared to show a missile silo in the foreground. Neighboring India interpreted this as a nuclear threat during an already tense period.
The State Bank of Pakistan quickly melted down the misinterpreted coins after diplomatic protests, claiming the problematic image was merely an architectural feature of the building.
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The Currency Conversion
When Iraq redesigned its currency after the fall of Saddam Hussein, the 2004 10,000 dinar note featured a historic waterwheel in Haditha. One small problem—the waterwheel had been destroyed years earlier in a military operation.
Iraqi citizens saw this as either government incompetence or a disturbing attempt to rewrite history. The central bank replaced the note with one featuring a standing waterwheel from a different location.
The Forgotten Territory
New Zealand’s 2015 $5 note managed to completely omit the country’s two largest offshore islands from its stylized map. The residents of Stewart Island and Chatham Islands were understandably upset at being literally erased from the nation’s currency.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand apologized but argued that including the islands would have made the map too small to see clearly—cold comfort to citizens who felt forgotten.
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