May 25 , 2011

Giesecke & Devrient opens exhibition: “Forests and Figures
– Nature on Banknotes”

Munich--The Munich-based technology group and banknote specialist Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) will open an exhibition entitled “Forests and Figures – Nature on Banknotes” in the company museum on the premises of its Munich headquarters, in cooperation with the HypoVereinsbank’s Banknote Collecting Foundation. To mark the “International Year of Forests” in 2011, the old-established Munich company will put 167 banknotes from all continents of the world on display to the public as of May 31, 2011.

“We hope the exhibition will encourage visitors to see the banknote as a work of art,” says Dr. Walter Schlebusch, member of the G&D Management Board, in his opening address. “Few people are aware that, aside from its obvious function as legal tender, the banknote also serves as a country’s visiting card, conveying a sense of the country’s attitude toward life, its self-image and vision on a few square centimeters.”

The exhibited banknotes have been loaned to G&D by the ypoVereinsbank’s Banknote Collecting Foundation, which possesses one of the world’s largest paper money collections. The notes are presented in relation to their cultural significance and grouped according to different themes such as climate zones, tree-lined alleys, and urban treeplanting.

In addition to viewing the banknote displays, visitors can also learn about trees as sources of healing and about exotic species of wood.

This is the fifth exhibition to be staged by the G&D museum. Last year, visitors were invited to view “Real or Fake. Counterfeit Money from All Continents.” And in 2008, one of G&D’s contributions to the Bavarian capital’s 850th anniversary was an exhibition illustrating the city’s history entitled “Money and Value in Munich”.

The new exhibition “Forests and Figures – Nature on Banknotes” is open from May 31 until December 20, 2011 in the G&D banknote museum, which is located in the former reception hall of the company’s headquarters (corner of Prinzregentenstrasse / Vogelweidestrasse in Munich). Admission is free. Group tours for up to 20 people can be
arranged in advance and take place two afternoons a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1:00 pm or 3:00 pm). Visitors can register on workdays between 10:00 am and 12:00 pm at +49-(0)89-4119 1354. The exhibition is closed on Sundays and holidays, as well as the entire month of July.