Central Bank Numismatic Museum at the Nairobi National Museum says Kenyan currency has an eight-step life cycle that runs from unwoven cotton up to when it is shredded and turned into briquettes.
The life cycle begins when locally grown cotton is processed and converted into the white paper used to print banknotes, meaning paper money is actually made of cotton, not conventional paper.
The banknote is then taken through a sophisticated and highly secured printing process where it is converted into various currency notes.
Printing money features on the banknotes, however, does not make it legal tender. The printed banknotes still have to undergo an elaborate issuance process, conducted by Central Bank, in which the serial numbers of every banknote is noted down before they are released into circulation.
Once released into circulation, the brand new notes change hands several times, making its way into and out of banks, changing from new to used-but-fresh, and finally to tattered-but-legible.
Banks then withdraw the tattered notes from circulation and take them to the CBK for replacement where they are stockpiled.
