The last farewell to paper money

María Valvanuz García-Saguar Pérez

This project proposes a farewell to paper money, in view of its possible disappearance due to the emergence of new payment methods, based on the ideas of the funeral rite and the return to nature, as a way of processing the mourning that comes with the end of a cycle. Paper money originated in China, and was made from the bark of the mulberry tree. It can therefore be considered that the life cycle of paper money originated in this tree. Therefore, in this final stage, the aim is to close this natural cycle, returning the paper money to the earth. Thus, this project presents the 'last banknote', which is printed on mulberry paper and has a seed of the same tree integrated inside, inviting to bury it, thus giving birth to a mulberry tree. All this finally symbolizes the end of cash and its continuity through electronic and digital payment systems, while giving life back to nature.