K10 — Ten Kyat
The artwork
Front: A chinthe — the leogryph that guards pagoda stairways across Burma — seated in three-quarter profile, mane in tight scales, tail flaring into a flame-like curl. Behind it, a pale ground of lotus-petal and floral guilloche in cream, mint and mauve. The Burmese title of the Central Bank runs along the top panel, the value spelt out in Burmese script at centre, with "10" upper right and the Burmese numeral in the lower corner. Serials in red: Burmese above, Latin at lower left.
Back: The Karaweik, the royal barge moored on Kandawgyi Lake in Yangon, rendered in fine grey line engraving: twin hintha-bird prows, tiered pyatthat roofs and a tall central spire, all reflected in stippled water. "CENTRAL BANK OF MYANMAR" heads the note in a hatched band with the Burmese numeral, "TEN KYATS" below, and a slim diamond-shaped ornament at the left edge. The right third is left plain for the watermark.
In circulation
Part of the Central Bank of Myanmar's undated kyat family introduced from the mid-1990s, this 10 kyats circulated widely as small change before inflation pushed everyday transactions onto the 1,000 and 5,000 kyat notes. It has not been reprinted, and though technically still current it is now seldom encountered in trade.
Details
- IssuerCentral Bank of Myanmar — Burmese title on the face, English on the back
- CurrencyKyat (K)
- DenominationTen Kyat
- Collectedon the Burma journey, 2001
- SeriesUndated kyat issue, ca. 1997
- WatermarkChinthe head, in the plain panel at right of the back
- SecuritySerial numbers in red, twice: Burmese numerals on the face at right, Latin prefix and seven digits at lower left (AG 6123566)