The special commemorative notes to mark the 50th anniversary of currency interchangeability between Brunei and Singapore has won an award for the Best Applied Security Product thanks to its innovative optical security feature.

Released in July this year, the $50 commemorative notes feature a diffractive, see-through security window that depicts Brunei Darussalam’s Istana Nurul Iman and Singapore’s Istana. This feature also received a Commendation Award in the Innovation in Holographic Technology category. The awards were conferred by the International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA).

“[The hologram on the notes] uses nano particles to create special diffractive and colour-shifting optical effects which are visible to the naked eye but extremely difficult for counterfeiters to replicate,” the Autoriti Monetari Brunei Darussalam (AMBD) said in a statement issued earlier this evening.

According to the IHMA, this feature represents “a significant technological advancement, as the science behind its development is a real step change for both polymer substrate and holograms”.

For this year’s Excellence in Holography Awards, the IHMA reported a record number of entries, 50 of which were for the Excellence in Holography Awards, including the Brunei SIngapore commemorative notes.

The AMBD and Monetary Authority Singapore issued more than two million pieces of the $50 commemorative notes which were officially launched by His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last July.

The Currency Interchangeability Agreement — which is the only such arrangement in Asia — began in 1967 between Brunei and Singapore. The agreement sees both monetary authorities accepting each other’s currency at a par exchange rate.