Examples of native fauna representation on banknotes issued between 1980-2017.

By Beaudee Newbery, Clare Morrison, and Guy Castley.

This Plain Language summary is published in advance of the paper discussed; check back soon for a link to the full paper.

Illustrated by emblems, maxims and imagery, banknotes and coins are one of the most tangible symbols of a nation’s identity and values. Previous currency iconography research has focused on the representation of political, economic, socio-cultural and industrial icons and achievements. There has been little attention on the potential importance of nature and wildlife representation on currency as a measure of wildlife contributions to national identity and showcasing national conservation values more broadly. Our research therefore explored wildlife, specifically native fauna, representation on banknotes. 

We assessed more than 4500 banknotes issued between 1980 and 2017 by 207 countries globally to identify and characterise the fauna species depicted. We identified 352 unique species on 15.2% of the banknotes examined. The geographic hotspots and taxonomic patterns we observed in the fauna iconography aligned with global biodiversity hotspots. Terrestrial species dominated depictions on banknotes contributing 89% of all imagery. This is despite island nations and countries with extensive coastlines commonly depicting wildlife on their banknotes. We also found that birds (195 species) and mammals (96 species) were the most commonly depicted groups overall. Threatened species were frequently depicted on banknotes from multiple countries, making up nearly one third of all fauna recorded, highlighting the perceived conservation value of these species.

Our results reveal that there is a continued focus to depict large charismatic fauna, e.g., elephants, leopards, lions, eagles and falcons, on banknotes, with some groups being underrepresented (e.g., frogs, reptiles, invertebrates). Our findings provide the basis for further exploration to determine whether similar patterns are seen for native flora, but also on coins issued by these countries.  Additional avenues for study also include a deeper analysis of citizens’ awareness of, and attitudes towards, such wildlife iconography, but also the decision-making processes that gave rise to the selection of this imagery to reflect national identity and values.