{"product_id":"madagascar-p-103a-10-000-ariary-nd2017-unc-port-of-ehoala-valiha-zafimaniry-carvings","title":"Madagascar P-103a 10,000 Ariary ND(2017) UNC—Port of Ehoala—Valiha \u0026 Zafimaniry Carvings","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe highest-denomination note of Madagascar's \"Madagascar and its Riches\" Series 2, this 10,000 Ariary is a vivid showcase of the island's natural and cultural wealth — from the deep-water port that opened Madagascar to global trade, to the ancient music and woodcraft traditions of the Zafimaniry people.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eFront\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eColors:\n    \u003cul\u003e\n      \u003cli\u003eBackground: multicolor\u003c\/li\u003e\n      \u003cli\u003eDominant: blue and green tones\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003c\/ul\u003e\n  \u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePort of Ehoala\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Toliara_Province\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eToliara Province\u003c\/a\u003e — Madagascar's deep-water port, opened 2009\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eColor-shifting \u003cstrong\u003eturtle\u003c\/strong\u003e in lower right corner (security feature)\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eDenomination: \u003cstrong\u003eIRAY ALINA ARIVO ARIARY\u003c\/strong\u003e (10,000 Ariary in Malagasy)\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eIssuer text: \u003cstrong\u003eBANKY FOIBEN'I MADAGASIKARA\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eSignatures: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=Alain+Herve+Rasolofondraibe+Governor+Central+Bank+Madagascar\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eGov. Alain Hervé Rasolofondraibe (AHR)\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eBack\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eColors:\n    \u003cul\u003e\n      \u003cli\u003eBackground: multicolor\u003c\/li\u003e\n      \u003cli\u003eDominant: warm earth tones\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003c\/ul\u003e\n  \u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Valiha\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eValiha\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e — Madagascar's national instrument, a bamboo tube zither\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Zafimaniry\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eZafimaniry\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e carved wood products — \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/UNESCO_Intangible_Cultural_Heritage\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eUNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eOther Characteristics\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eVarieties:\n    \u003cul\u003e\n      \u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eP-103a, ND(2017), Gov. AHR — this note\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n      \u003cli\u003e\u003cem\u003eP-103s, ND(2017) — Specimen\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n      \u003cli\u003e\u003cem\u003eTBB B338b, ND(2025), Gov. AHA\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003c\/ul\u003e\n  \u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eCatalog numbers: \u003cstrong\u003eP-103a\u003c\/strong\u003e; \u003cstrong\u003eTBB B338a\u003c\/strong\u003e; \u003cstrong\u003eNumista N#203010\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eWatermark: Not specified\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eComposition: \u003cstrong\u003ePaper\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eSize: \u003cstrong\u003e144 × 78 mm\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eIssuing entity: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Central_Bank_of_Madagascar\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eCentral Bank of Madagascar (Banky Foiben'i Madagasikara)\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003ePrinter: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Giesecke%2BDevrient\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eGiesecke+Devrient\u003c\/a\u003e, Leipzig, Germany\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eDemonetized: No — \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Demonetization_(currency)\" target=\"_blank\"\u003edemonetization\u003c\/a\u003e not applicable\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eSignatures: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=Alain+Herve+Rasolofondraibe+Governor+Central+Bank+Madagascar\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eGov. Alain Hervé Rasolofondraibe (AHR)\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eCurrency: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Malagasy_ariary\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAriary (MGA)\u003c\/a\u003e, in use since 2003\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eOfficial language(s): \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Malagasy_language\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eMalagasy\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/French_language\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eFrench\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eAbout Madagascar\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eOrigin of name: Named after the island of \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Madagascar\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eMadagascar\u003c\/a\u003e; the name was popularized in Europe by \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marco_Polo\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eMarco Polo\u003c\/a\u003e, likely a corruption of \"Mogadishu\" — a geographic error that stuck\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eCapital: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Antananarivo\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAntananarivo\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e (city pop. ~1.4 million; metro ~3.7 million)\n    \u003cul\u003e\n      \u003cli\u003eOrigin of name: Malagasy for \u003cstrong\u003e\"City of the Thousand\"\u003c\/strong\u003e — referring to the thousand soldiers who once guarded it\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003c\/ul\u003e\n  \u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003ePopulation: ~\u003cstrong\u003e30 million\u003c\/strong\u003e (UN 2024) — similar to Peru or Texas\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eArea: \u003cstrong\u003e587,041 km²\u003c\/strong\u003e (226,658 mi²) — similar to France or Texas\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eGDP per capita (\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Purchasing_power_parity\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePPP\u003c\/a\u003e): ~\u003cstrong\u003e$1,800 USD\u003c\/strong\u003e (one of the lowest in the world)\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eMain exports: \u003cstrong\u003evanilla, cloves, nickel, cobalt\u003c\/strong\u003e, clothing, seafood\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eBorders: None — island nation in the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Indian_Ocean\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eIndian Ocean\u003c\/a\u003e, separated from mainland Africa by the \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Mozambique_Channel\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eMozambique Channel\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eOfficial\/spoken languages: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Malagasy_language\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eMalagasy\u003c\/a\u003e (Austronesian), \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/French_language\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eFrench\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eEthnicities: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Merina_people\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eMerina\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Betsimisaraka\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBetsimisaraka\u003c\/a\u003e, \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Betsileo_people\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBetsileo\u003c\/a\u003e, and 15+ other Malagasy groups; small communities of Comorians, Indians, Chinese, and French\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eMemberships: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/African_Union\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAfrican Union\u003c\/a\u003e (founding member, 1963); \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/United_Nations\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eUnited Nations\u003c\/a\u003e (1960); \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Organisation_internationale_de_la_Francophonie\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eOrganisation internationale de la Francophonie\u003c\/a\u003e; \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Common_Market_for_Eastern_and_Southern_Africa\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eCOMESA\u003c\/a\u003e; \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Indian_Ocean_Commission\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eIndian Ocean Commission\u003c\/a\u003e (hosts secretariat in Mauritius)\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eSovereignty: See narrative below\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eMadagascar Unfiltered\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMadagascar split from the Indian subcontinent roughly \u003cstrong\u003e88 million years ago\u003c\/strong\u003e — making it one of the oldest island landmasses on Earth. About \u003cstrong\u003e90% of its wildlife\u003c\/strong\u003e exists nowhere else on the planet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe island was uninhabited until roughly \u003cstrong\u003e350–550 AD\u003c\/strong\u003e, when \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Austronesian_peoples\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAustronesian\u003c\/a\u003e sailors arrived from \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Borneo\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBorneo\u003c\/a\u003e — making Malagasy people more closely related to Indonesians than to mainland Africans.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMadagascar produces more than \u003cstrong\u003e80% of the world's vanilla\u003c\/strong\u003e. A single crop failure can send global vanilla prices higher than silver per gram.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOver \u003cstrong\u003e90% of Madagascar's original forests\u003c\/strong\u003e have been destroyed. The country loses an estimated 100,000–200,000 hectares of forest per year to slash-and-burn agriculture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDespite extraordinary biodiversity, Madagascar ranks among the world's poorest nations. More than \u003cstrong\u003e75% of the population\u003c\/strong\u003e lives below the international poverty line of $2.15\/day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Zafimaniry\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eZafimaniry\u003c\/a\u003e people of the central highlands are the only ethnic group in the world whose entire built environment — houses, furniture, tools — is made from carved wood. Their craft is a \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/UNESCO_Intangible_Cultural_Heritage\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eUNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMadagascar has experienced \u003cstrong\u003efour coups\u003c\/strong\u003e or unconstitutional transfers of power since independence in 1960. The most recent, in 2009, triggered international sanctions and a prolonged political crisis.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Island That Forgot It Was African\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMadagascar's first settlers didn't come from Africa — they came from \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Borneo\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBorneo\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, more than 6,000 kilometers across open ocean, in outrigger canoes. \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bantu_peoples\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eBantu\u003c\/a\u003e-speaking Africans arrived later, and Arab traders after them. The result is a culture that is genuinely unlike anything else on Earth: \u003cstrong\u003eAustronesian language, African cattle culture, Arab lunar calendar, French colonial overlay\u003c\/strong\u003e — all layered onto an island that had been evolving in isolation for 88 million years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lemur\" target=\"_blank\"\u003elemurs\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e are the most visible symbol of that isolation. There are over 100 species, found nowhere else. When humans arrived, they found giant lemurs the size of gorillas. Within a few centuries, they were gone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Port on This Note Changed Everything\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Port_of_Ehoala\" target=\"_blank\"\u003ePort of Ehoala\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, depicted on the obverse, opened in 2009 in the far south of Madagascar — built to service a massive ilmenite and zircon mining operation run by \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rio_Tinto_(corporation)\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eRio Tinto\u003c\/a\u003e. It was Madagascar's first deep-water port capable of handling large cargo vessels. \u003cstrong\u003eIt was also deeply controversial\u003c\/strong\u003e: the mining project displaced local communities and drew sustained criticism from environmental groups concerned about habitat destruction in one of the world's most biodiverse coastal zones.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe port is a microcosm of Madagascar's central tension: a country of \u003cstrong\u003eextraordinary natural wealth\u003c\/strong\u003e — vanilla, cobalt, nickel, sapphires, biodiversity — and \u003cstrong\u003eextraordinary poverty\u003c\/strong\u003e, where the extraction of that wealth has rarely benefited the people living above it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Valiha and the Zafimaniry: Culture as Survival\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Valiha\" target=\"_blank\"\u003evaliha\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e on the reverse is Madagascar's national instrument — a bamboo tube zither with strings cut from the outer skin of the bamboo itself. It arrived with the Austronesian settlers and has been played continuously for over a thousand years. It is one of the few instruments in the world where the resonator and the strings are made from the same piece of material.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Zafimaniry\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eZafimaniry\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e carving tradition shown alongside it is equally ancient. Every surface of a Zafimaniry home — walls, doors, window frames, furniture — is covered in geometric patterns that encode social meaning: \u003cstrong\u003efertility, unity, the passage of time\u003c\/strong\u003e. The craft is passed from parent to child. It was inscribed on \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/UNESCO_Intangible_Cultural_Heritage\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eUNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage\u003c\/a\u003e list in 2008.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBoth the valiha and the Zafimaniry carvings represent something the Port of Ehoala does not: \u003cstrong\u003eculture that belongs to the people who made it\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eOwn This Document of Madagascar, Before and After\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis 10,000 Ariary note was issued in 2017, during Madagascar's \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Politics_of_Madagascar\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eFourth Republic\u003c\/a\u003e — a period of fragile democratic recovery after the 2009 coup. It is the \u003cstrong\u003ehighest denomination in circulation\u003c\/strong\u003e, worth roughly $2.40 at issue. It carries on one face the infrastructure of extraction, and on the other the craft traditions that have survived everything. That tension is not accidental. It is Madagascar.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePrinted by \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Giesecke%2BDevrient\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eGiesecke+Devrient\u003c\/a\u003e in Leipzig — the same firm that has printed currency for over 100 countries — this note is crisp, detailed, and already beginning to disappear from circulation as the 2025 series takes over. The P-103a is the first variety, signed by Governor Rasolofondraibe, and the one most commonly encountered in UNC condition. It won't stay that way.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"World Money Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52021188264247,"sku":"MG103aUNC","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0969\/7165\/3431\/files\/103o_8bdc6868-ab37-4b36-afd1-39d5252ab0ce.jpg?v=1776893760","url":"https:\/\/worldmoneystore.com\/products\/madagascar-p-103a-10-000-ariary-nd2017-unc-port-of-ehoala-valiha-zafimaniry-carvings","provider":"World Money Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}