In 2012 the Central Bank of Suriname removed 170 falsified Surinamese dollar bills out of circulation. In recent years large quantities of counterfeit bills have been intercepted. The majority are imitations of bills from the emissions that have been issued before end-2010. In comparison, the new bills that have been brought into circulation from November 2010 onwards appear less subject to falsification. Only 36 bills that were representations of the new bills have been detected.
The main explanation for less counterfeit for new bills as compared to counterfeit for bills from the old emissions appear to be the improved authenticity features. This makes imitation more of a problem. The new safety features include, amongst others, a holographic strip, a color changing safety thread, a protective layer, and reinforced sides and corners. They also bear the date of 1 September 2010. The old emissions have retained their status of legal tender but will in time be fully replaced. This will happen as they are being returned to the central bank and the bank takes them out of circulation for destruction.
The Central Bank of Suriname is the sole issuer of Surinamese dollar bills by law. In addition, it has been given the mandate by the Ministry of Finance to keep coin bills in depot and issue them on behalf of the treasury.
