A country situated in Southern Africa, the Republic of Namibia is the driest Sub-Saharan country bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Botswana to the east, Zambia and Angola to the north, and South Africa to the south and east.
After gaining its independence within the Commonwealth of Nations, the Bank of Namibia was established in 1993. In 1993, the bank introduced the Namibian dollar, replacing the South African rand. The set of banknotes issued at that time was designed by Tumba Bruk of Sweden, bearing a portrait of national hero Kaptein Hendrick Witbooi and Parliament on the obverse and wildlife on the reverse.
On December 2, 1996, the bank began issuing banknotes that have similar designs as to the preceding issues but with a windowed security thread and novel serial numbers. Banknotes from this series were printed by Francois-Charles Oberthur Fiducaire, South African Banknote Company, Giesecke & Devrient, and De La Rue.
In 2011, a new set of notes were released, featuring Sam Nujoma who served as the founding father and president of Namibia. These notes were the first ever to use Oberthur Technologies’ new security features such as a glossy Securicoat print, Diaphan registration device, and color-shifting Janus windowed security thread.
In a press release dated July 13, 2012, the Bank of Namibia stated that they have observed that the diamond OVI feature at the center front on the 10 and 20 dollar denominations would crack after several folding. Hence, in 1993, the bank issued new notes with the new placement of the diamond design to avoid being folded. Eventually, the OVI diamond feature was taken off the new set of notes released on October 20, 2015.