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20 Kwacha
| Issuer | Reserve Bank of Malawi |
|---|---|
| Year | 1997 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 20 Kwacha |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Intaglio portrait of Reverend John Chilembwe at right, rendered in fine engraved detail against a lavender and ochre guilloche underprint. A vignette at centre-left portrays fishermen in a traditional dugout canoe on Lake Malawi, with a fish motif integrated into the background design. The purple band at top carries the issuer's name, with the denomination numeral K20 at upper right and the serial number appearing twice, once at upper left and once at lower right. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central intaglio vignette of two tea pickers harvesting leaves on a plantation, with large woven baskets on their backs and a mountainous landscape visible in the background. The Reserve Bank of Malawi arms appear at upper centre, and a fish motif in optically variable ink is positioned at lower right. A bold purple band at the base carries the issuer name and denomination, with 'TWENTY KWACHA' lettered vertically at right. |
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| Comments |
Malawi's 1997 issue marked a broader shift in the Reserve Bank's security specification — the adoption of optically variable ink on this denomination coincided with a period of significant kwacha depreciation and rising concern about domestic counterfeiting of mid-range notes. The 20 Kwacha was a workhorse denomination in everyday commerce, which made it a logical target.
De La Rue's Gateshead facility handled production. The plant had consolidated much of the company's African contract work by the mid-1990s following restructuring of its UK printing operations.