{"product_id":"madagascar-p-104-20000-ariary-nd2017-unc","title":"Madagascar P-104a 20,000 Ariary ND (2017) UNC—Ambatovy Mine—Rice, Vanilla \u0026 Lychees","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe apex denomination of Madagascar's \"Madagascar and its Riches\" Series 2, the 20,000 Ariary pairs the island's industrial ambition — a world-class nickel mine carved into the highland rainforest — with the agricultural soul that feeds and defines Madagascar: rice, vanilla, lychees, and pepper, framed by the terraced paddies that have shaped the landscape for a thousand years.\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: purple and violet 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\/Ambatovy\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAmbatovy nickel mine\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e (\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sherritt_International\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eSherritt International\u003c\/a\u003e) — one of the largest laterite nickel operations in the world\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eColor-shifting stylized \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Green_sea_turtle\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eGreen Sea Turtle\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e (\u003cem\u003eChelonia mydas\u003c\/em\u003e) in lower right (security feature)\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eDenomination: \u003cstrong\u003eROA ALINA ARIVO ARIARY\u003c\/strong\u003e (20,000 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: green and gold tones\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003c\/ul\u003e\n  \u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRice, vanilla, lychees, pepper\u003c\/strong\u003e — Madagascar's defining agricultural exports\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eRice field\u003c\/strong\u003e — terraced paddy landscape of the central highlands\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-104a, ND(2017), Gov. AHR, Prefix A–E — this note\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n      \u003cli\u003e\u003cem\u003eP-104s, ND(2017) — Specimen\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n      \u003cli\u003e\u003cem\u003eTBB B339b, ND(2025), Gov. AHA, Prefix F–...\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003c\/ul\u003e\n  \u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eCatalog numbers: \u003cstrong\u003eP-104a\u003c\/strong\u003e; \u003cstrong\u003eTBB B339a\u003c\/strong\u003e; \u003cstrong\u003eNumista N#203018\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eWatermark: Zebu cattle head and electrotype 10000\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eComposition: \u003cstrong\u003ePaper\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eSize: \u003cstrong\u003e149 × 81 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 Mine on This Note Cost the Forest\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ambatovy\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eAmbatovy mine\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e, depicted on the obverse, is one of the largest nickel and cobalt laterite operations on Earth. It sits in the rainforest east of Antananarivo, operated by \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sherritt_International\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eSherritt International\u003c\/a\u003e of Canada. Construction began in 2007 and required \u003cstrong\u003eclearing thousands of hectares of primary rainforest\u003c\/strong\u003e — habitat for species found nowhere else on the planet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe mine was built to run for \u003cstrong\u003e27 years\u003c\/strong\u003e. It produces nickel used in stainless steel and electric vehicle batteries. Madagascar receives royalties. The forest does not grow back.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe project is a near-perfect encapsulation of Madagascar's dilemma: \u003cstrong\u003eextraordinary mineral wealth\u003c\/strong\u003e sitting beneath \u003cstrong\u003eirreplaceable biodiversity\u003c\/strong\u003e, in one of the world's poorest countries, with a government that has rarely had the leverage to negotiate on equal terms with multinational capital.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Other Side: What Madagascar Actually Eats and Sells\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe reverse tells a different story. \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rice_production_in_Madagascar\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eRice\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e is not just a crop in Madagascar — it is identity. The Malagasy word for rice, \u003cem\u003evary\u003c\/em\u003e, is also the word for meal. Madagascar has one of the highest per-capita rice consumption rates in the world, yet still imports rice in bad harvest years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Vanilla\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eVanilla\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e is Madagascar's most famous export — the island produces over 80% of the world's natural vanilla, almost all of it from the Sava region in the northeast. The crop is hand-pollinated, labor-intensive, and extraordinarily vulnerable to cyclones. A single storm can erase a year's global vanilla supply.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lychee\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eLychees\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003epepper\u003c\/strong\u003e round out the reverse's agricultural tableau — both significant export crops, both grown in the humid northeast, both dependent on the same fragile ecosystem that the mine on the front is consuming.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch2\u003eOwn This Document of Madagascar, Before and After\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis 20,000 Ariary note — the \u003cstrong\u003ehighest denomination Madagascar has ever issued\u003c\/strong\u003e — was released on 17 July 2017, worth roughly $4.80 at the time. It holds on one face the infrastructure of extraction, and on the other the crops and paddies that have sustained Malagasy life for centuries. The tension between those two faces is not decorative. It is the country.\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, signed by Governor Rasolofondraibe, prefix A–E. The 2025 series (prefix F onward, signed by Governor Andrianarivelo) is already entering circulation. The P-104a window is closing.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"World Money Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52021189640503,"sku":"MG104aUNC","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0969\/7165\/3431\/files\/104o_aec27ccb-fa3f-4b80-821e-03c9e6571fd2.jpg?v=1776893993","url":"https:\/\/worldmoneystore.com\/products\/madagascar-p-104-20000-ariary-nd2017-unc","provider":"World Money Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}