Falkland Islands, a small archipelago just taught the big issuers how to do a full-family refresh: bold theme, modern substrate, and wildlife swagger you can spot from the quay.
On 14 August 2025 (Falklands Day) the Falkland Islands released a new family of polymer banknotes—£5, £10 and £20—featuring King Charles III, a transparent king-penguin window, and local flora/fauna; existing paper notes remain legal tender during a gradual phase-out. See the Geldscheine-Online report and the FITV news piece for the day-by-day rollout.
Falkland Islands, So what actually launched and why it matters
It isn’t one lonely fiver trotted out for the cameras; it’s a family launch: £5, £10 and £20 landed together, right on Falklands Day. The result is coherence—same design language, clear color separation (red, green, yellow-brown), and a storyline that runs from the royal portrait to the rocks of Steeple Jason without losing the plot. Start with the concise brief on Geldscheine-Online, then cross-check the broader context via BanknoteNews, which flagged the date and parallel circulation months in advance.
The design philosophy: two kings and a motto
Front and center is King Charles III. Stare a second longer and you’ll notice the islanders’ sense of humor: the second monarch is a king penguin, etched into a transparent security window that’s equal parts cute and unforgiving to counterfeiters. Flora and fauna aren’t wallpaper—they’re the brief. Locals were asked what mattered; they chose native nature. The printer De La Rue and a community working group translated that into polymer that looks good under sunlight and ultraviolet alike. Read the origin story on Falklands Radio, then see how the motto “Desire The Right” ties the whole thing to the islands’ earliest charts in the FITV recap.
Security & substrate: polymer that punches above its weight
Polymer was the only sensible choice. The transparent window with that unmistakable penguin anchors a modern stack of tricks—UV/IR elements and tactile cues—so shopkeepers can check a note in less time than it takes to pour a decent tea. For a preview of the feature set (and why it’s hard to fake without a chem lab), see the technical summary from Keesing Platform.
Tech Specs (at a glance)
- Denominations
- £5, £10, £20 (launched together on 14 Aug 2025)
- Substrate
- Polymer
- Portrait
- King Charles III (obverse)
- Security window
- Transparent window with king penguin motif
- Theme
- Native flora & fauna, Pale Maiden, coastal landscapes incl. Steeple Jason
- Colorways
- £5 red · £10 green · £20 yellow-brown
- Printer
- De La Rue
- Legacy notes
- Paper issues remain legal tender during gradual withdrawal
Falkland Islands Rollout: a public party with receipts
The curtain-raiser wasn’t behind closed doors. The Historic Dockyard Museum hosted a launch reception on 13 August with a charity auction that raised funds locally, and circulation started on the holiday itself, 14 August. You can catch the timeline via MercoPress (event invite), the FIG’s press statement, and the post-event write-up in Penguin News.
What stays, what goes: the practical money bit
Don’t bin your paper notes. They remain legal tender while tills adjust and hoarders have their moment. There’s no hard deadline splashed across official channels; the message is “steady as she goes,” with supply of the older £50 considered ample for decades. That stance was flagged early by BanknoteNews and reiterated in the government’s launch comms.
Collector’s verdict on Falkland Islands: small issuer, big charisma
For modern-polymer hunters, this ticks every box. A rare sovereign issuer, a whole family debut, wildlife that isn’t generic, and a security window that will look sensational under a UV lamp at your next club meet. The colour discipline is tasty, the theming coherent, and—because this is the South Atlantic—not a hint of design committee beige. If you’re curating a 2025 showcase, these three are the set that says “you actually pay attention.”
Quick Answers
When did the new notes enter circulation?
Which denominations launched?
Are they polymer and who printed them?
Do paper notes remain legal tender?
Further reading & official mentions
- Geldscheine-Online: “Neue Ausgaben am Falklands-Tag 2025”
- FITV: Government launches new bank notes
- Falklands Radio: Debuts new banknotes design
- Falkland Islands Government: Press statement (FB)
- BanknoteNews: Falkland Islands new polymer notes
- Penguin News: Launch & charity auction
- Keesing Platform: Feature overview
