K50 — Fifty Kyat
The artwork
Front: A seated chinthe — the leogryph that guards pagoda stairways across Burma — fills the right half, mane and scale-work engraved in deep red, facing left with mouth open. To its left the denomination is spelled out in Burmese script over a rosette of guilloche in pink and pale green, with "Central Bank of Myanmar" in Burmese along the top panel. Burmese numerals ၅၀ at the corners, western 50 top right, red serial with an AF prefix.
Back: A lacquerware craftsman at work: seated cross-legged in a Bagan workshop, turning a small vessel in his hands, surrounded by finished bowls, cups, offering stands and a tall tiered hsun-ok box in a warm plum ink. "CENTRAL BANK OF MYANMAR" arches across the top, "FIFTY KYATS" below in blue-green, flanked by numerals in both scripts and foliate medallions in the side panels.
In circulation
Part of the Central Bank of Myanmar series introduced in 1994, replacing the earlier 45- and 90-kyat oddities of the Ne Win era. It circulated widely through the later 1990s, then faded as inflation pushed everyday spending onto the 1,000-kyat note and, from 2009 onward, the 5,000 and 10,000.
Details
- IssuerCentral Bank of Myanmar
- CurrencyKyat (K)
- DenominationFifty Kyat
- Collectedon the Burma journey, 2001
- Series1994 issue, chinthe type
- WatermarkChinthe head
- SecurityRed serial, AF prefix; Burmese and western numerals