The Most Beautiful Money in the World: David Standish Top 10 Banknotes
American designer and author of The Art of Money (2000), David Standish, put together his personal top ten list of the world’s most visually striking paper banknotes. The selection turns out delightfully exotic: instead of familiar US dollars or euros, island nations, vibrant wildlife, and unconventional graphic design take center stage.
1. French Polynesia – 10,000 CFP Francs (XPF)
Below is Standish’s full top ten ranking along with what makes each note stand out.
1. French Polynesia – 10,000 CFP Francs
This high-denomination note from France’s Pacific territories looks like a vintage South Seas postcard: floral garlands, Polynesian portraits, and a warm color palette capture the atmosphere of Tahiti, Moorea, and Bora Bora familiar from the paintings of Paul Gauguin and the stories of Stevenson, Maugham, and Herman Melville.
2. Maldives – 50 Rufiyaa
The classic paper 50 rufiyaa note of the Maldives depicts two historical pillars of island life – fishing and coconut harvesting. A neat design detail is its border pattern of money cowrie shells (Monetaria moneta): for centuries, shells gathered in the Maldives served as everyday currency across a huge stretch from East Africa to Asia.
3. São Tomé and Príncipe – 50,000 Dobras
The tiny island nation in the Gulf of Guinea showcases volcanic landscapes and endemic wildlife, placing the São Tomé kingfisher (Alcedo thomensis) right at the center of rich tropical colors. (The country later redenominated the dobra at 1,000:1 with a newer series, though this classic issue remains a collector favorite.)
4. Switzerland – 100 Swiss Francs
The vertical 100-franc note from Switzerland’s eighth banknote series honors sculptor Alberto Giacometti (1901–1966). Its reverse reproduces his iconic elongated figure Walking Man I (L’Homme qui marche I) alongside sculptural studies – an unusually avant-garde subject for national paper money.
5. Comoros – 1,000 Francs
Another Indian Ocean island issue: soft watercolor tones, calm tropical shores, and a stylized sea shell create a serene mood – quite a contrast with the turbulent political chapters the archipelago experienced after independence in 1975.
6. New Zealand – 5 Dollars
The portrait on this copper-orange polymer five-dollar note belongs to Sir Edmund Hillary – the New Zealander who summited Mount Everest in 1953, crossed Antarctica in 1958, and led an expedition up the Ganges River in 1977. The engraving captures an approachable, unpolished portrait of a mountaineer and explorer who famously started out as a beekeeper.
7. Cook Islands – 3 Dollars
Even the denomination itself is a collector oddity: a 3-dollar bill illustrating the Polynesian myth of the maiden Ina riding on the back of a shark. Deep turquoise shades and lush artwork give it the feel of an untouched storybook island in the middle of the Pacific.
8. Hong Kong – 10 Hong Kong Dollars
Hong Kong’s magenta polymer-and-paper ten looks tailored for a futuristic metropolis: semi-transparent security windows, crisp geometric ribbons, and a bold modern palette break away completely from traditional central-bank engraving.
9. Iceland – 5,000 Krónur
This note features Ragnheiður Jónsdóttir (1646–1715), a renowned Icelandic seamstress and the wife of two Icelandic bishops. The intricate traditional seventeenth-century tall headdress and embroidery motifs look remarkably crisp in print.
10. Faroe Islands – 500 Krónur
The Faroese 500-krónur note stands out with a deliberately asymmetrical layout and a bold, finely detailed engraving of a coastal crab – immediately reflecting the maritime livelihood of the windswept islands between Iceland and Norway.
Personally, two notes from this top ten stuck in my head most: the bright New Zealand five (Hillary oddly reminds me of my old dorm neighbor “Spartak”) and the Faroese 500 krónur with the crab – one look at it makes me want to cook up some fresh seafood :-)