New Zealand Currency - notes and coins

ExplainingCurrency

New Zealand’s bank notes and coins

2 Explaining Currency: New Zealand’s bank notes and coins

In t roduc t i on 3What is money?

What is legal tender?

Today ’s bank no t e s 4Plastic fantastic

The life-cycle of a bank note

Security features to look for

Special edition millennium $10 note

Bank no t e s : A c l o s e r l o ok 8Five dollar note

Ten dollar note

Twenty dollar note

Fifty dollar note

Hundred dollar note

New Zea land ’s c o in s 13How are our coins made?

Coin design

Commemorative currency

Five cents

Ten cents

Twenty cents

Fifty cents

One dollar

Two dollar

Cur rency t ime l in e 16

A b r i e f h i s t o r y o f New Zea land ’s cu r r ency 17Early days

The Reserve Bank issues bank notes

Decimal currency

Defacing bank notes

Are damaged notes worth anything?

Reproducing or imitating currency

Contents

Explaining Currency: New Zealand’s bank notes and coins 3

Introduct ionWe all use currency - bank notes and coins - but what is

it really?

This booklet describes what money is, what cash or

currency is, how New Zealand’s bank notes are designed

and made, and the life cycle of a typical bank note. It

also looks at the design and security features of our

bank notes and coins, and the history of currency in

New Zealand.

What i s money?In ancient times, people had to barter things to trade - for

instance, a cow for six pigs. This, however, was clumsy. What

if you wanted six pigs but the pig seller didn’t want your

cow, as he or she wanted some sheep instead, which you

didn’t have?

That’s where money came in. Money is a token or measure

that stores wealth. With it, in our example above, the trade

could take place. Also with money you can earn now and

spend later. Early examples of money were shells and iron

nails, as they could easily be counted. In due course, these

were replaced by coins made of gold, silver, bronze and copper

and much later paper money was developed.

These days you can buy things using coins, bank notes,

cheques, or credit cards, or by making an electronic

transaction (EFT-POS etc); all are modern ways of moving

money around. There’s a lot more money around than just

cash. In the New Zealand economy now if you add up all the

cash and all the other money, such as in bank deposits, it

comes to about $100 billion. The value of the bank notes

and coins in circulation is much less at around $2 billion.

However, despite talk about e-commerce, cash remains very

useful for making relatively small transactions instantly and

conveniently.

What i s l e ga l t ende r?The virtue of cash – that you can buy or sell something

instantly and conveniently – comes from the concept of legal

tender. Technically, legal tender means that if I owe you

money and I present you with cash, then the debt is cleared

then and there. The only exception to this is if we both agree

to a different form of payment beforehand.

So, for example, a shop doesn’t have to accept a cheque,

and it doesn’t even have to accept cash, but the shop has to

clearly indicate to you before you do business with them that

they do not accept these forms of payment.

There is a minor qualification to this, in that the law specifies

limits on using annoying amounts of coins as legal tender for

buying larger items. If I owe you, say, $1000, I can’t present

you with $1000 worth of 5 cent coins and require you to

accept them as legal tender.

Reserve Bank notes and coins are defined in the Reserve Bank

Act as “legal tender”. The Reserve Bank is the only

organisation in New Zealand that can issue bank notes and

coins and determine the denominations and design of the

nation’s currency.


Today’s bank notesPlas t i c f an t a s t i cAll New Zealand’s bank notes are now printed on a

polypropylene polymer material. Previously they were printed

on paper made from cotton.

There were two main reasons why the Reserve Bank decided

to change to polymer. First was wear and tear - polymer

bank notes are stronger and non-porous. Polymer notes last

at least four times as long as paper notes. They don’t get as

dirty and tatty as paper and they are much harder to tear.

Secondly, polymer bank notes allow for more sophisticated

security features to deter forgeries. These security features

are explained in more detail below. In Australia, the

introduction of polymer bank notes in 1992 resulted in

reported forgeries falling significantly.

Polymer is good for the environment too. Whereas paper

notes were shredded and discarded at the end of their lives,

old polymer bank notes can be recycled economically into

useful products such as polymer wheelbarrows, compost bins

and plumbing fittings.

The l i f e - cyc l e o f a bank no t eDesign

The planning, printing and production of a new bank note

design is complex and takes a large team of people up to

two years before the note is issued.

First of all, the design elements of the note have to be decided.

Rough drawings are prepared of the images to be used

(people, birds, plants, flowers, etc.), watermark, text, and

colours.

Once these preliminary details are worked out, a group of

artists produces an exact image or sketch of both sides of

the note in the correct size and colours with the aid of a

computer-based design system. The designers have to think

not only about the Reserve Bank’s requirements, but also

about security features and printing capabilities. Bank notes

are printed in a range of sizes to enable partially sighted and

blind people to distinguish between notes. The largest in

the series is the $100 note and the smallest is the $5.

Printing

New Zealand’s bank notes are printed by Note Printing

Australia in Melbourne. To create a bank note, printing plates,

polymer substrate and ink are brought together in a huge

printing hall. The polymer substrate, on which the bank notes

are printed, starts out as a large roll of clear plastic film.


To start with, two layers of ink (usually white) are applied to

each side of the clear film, except for areas which are

deliberately left clear, or areas where the ink is printed on

one side of the note only. This stage of the process is called

opacifying.

The next stage is sheeting. This is where the opacified

substrate is cut into large sheets ready for feeding into the

note printing presses.

“Simultan” printing machines print the background colours

and patterns onto the polymer. As the name suggests, both

sides of the notes are printed at the same time, at up to

8000 sheets per hour. Major design elements are printed

using intaglio printing machines during which ink is applied

to the polymer under great pressure. This gives the notes

their raised printing, which is one of the security features of

polymer notes. Separate print runs are required for each

side of the note.

Serial numbers are then added to the notes using a letterpress

printing process. In the current note series, each serial number

consists of a prefix of two letters followed by eight numbers.

The first two of these numbers indicate the year the note

was manufactured.

During the final print run, the notes are given two coats of a

protective overcoating varnish using an offset printing press.

This overcoat makes the notes more durable, as it protects

the printing, and helps to keep the notes clean.

The completed sheets of notes are examined for faults.

Imperfect sheets are marked with a machine-readable ink

for removal later in the process. Printed sheets are guillotined

into individual notes, which are then placed into containers

in alpha-numerical order and transported to computer-

controlled machines for final counting and banding. The

finished notes are then shrink-wrapped, placed on pallets

and stored in a strongroom.

Finally, the finished bank notes are shipped to the Reserve

Bank of New Zealand for distribution to banks. From there,

the notes are made available to customers from tellers and

through cash machines, and the notes start their life in general

circulation. Bank notes usually find their way back into a

bank and are then sorted in machines that count and check

for counterfeits and damaged notes. The good notes are

bundled back up again and recirculated, while damaged notes

are discarded for granulating and recycling.


1. Each polymer note has two transparent windows.

One of the transparent windows is oval-shaped and

sloping and has the denomination numerals embossed

in it. The other clear window is in the shape of a

curved fern leaf.

2. There is a fern immediately above the clear fern-

shaped window. When you hold the note to the light,

the fern should match perfectly with another fern on

the other side.

Securi ty features to look for3. You should easily be able to see a shadow image of

the Queen when you hold the note to the light.

4. Each note has an individual serial number printed

horizontally and vertically.

5. Polymer notes have raised printing, which stands up

on the surface and can be felt when you run your

fingers over it.

6. Tiny micro-printed letters “RBNZ” should be visible

with a magnifying glass.

7. Under an ultraviolet light, the polymer note appears

dull. Most commercial papers used in forgeries will

glow under an ultraviolet light. However, polymer

notes contain special inks, which make particular

features glow under an ultraviolet light. For example,

the front of each genuine note has a fluorescent patch

showing the denomination numerals, which can only

be seen under an ultraviolet light.

Remember, all images on your bank notes should

appear sharp and well defined - not fuzzy and washed

out.

1 Transparent window1 Transparent window

4 Individual serial

number

5 Raised printing

2 Fern

matches both

sides

3 Shadow image of

Queen Elizabeth II

6 Micro-printing


The special edi t ion mil lennium $10 noteIn 1999, the Reserve Bank issued a special $10 bank note to

commemorate the new millennium. This limited edition note

depicts New Zealand’s development into the digital age and

some of the recreational pursuits that make New Zealand

special. The design features on the note represent New

Zealand’s past and its future. The front shows a Maori war

canoe, symbolising New Zealand’s journey. It also shows New

Zealand’s future in the digital age. On the back, some of the

recreational pursuits enjoyed in New Zealand are portrayed.

The $10 millennium bank note has special security features

which are world firsts. The most obvious is the two silver

ferns within the clear window, which reflect rainbow colours

when the note is tilted to the light. As well, when you fold

the note over and look at the map of New Zealand on the

back of the note through the clear window, the letters “Y2K”

become visible on the North and South Islands. The letters

can only be seen with the use of the filter incorporated in the

note’s clear window.


these tractors proved adaptable to the harsh Antarctic

conditions, requiring only minor modifications.

BackCampbell Island scene

Campbell Island is the southernmost of New Zealand’s

outlying islands – about 600 kilometres southeast of Stewart

Island. Campbell Island has an area of 114 square kilometres.

Yellow-eyed penguin or hoiho (Megadyptes

antipodes)

The distinctive thing about the yellow-eyed penguin is its

yellow iris and yellow band of feathers across the back of its

head. One of the world’s rarest penguins, it can be found on

sea-facing scrub and forested slopes along the southeastern

Fron tSir Edmund Hillary (1919-)

Sir Edmund Hillary is New Zealand’s most accomplished

explorer, gaining world renown in 1953 as the first person to

climb Mt Everest. In 1958 Sir Edmund became the first person

to drive overland to the South Pole.

Mount Cook or Aorangi

Mount Cook, in New Zealand’s South Island, is New Zealand’s

highest mountain. It was the scene of Sir Edmund Hillary’s

earliest climbing successes, and is still regarded by Hillary as

one of his favourite mountains.

Massey Ferguson tractor

It was on tractors such as this that Sir Edmund Hillary drove

to the South Pole. A stalwart of New Zealand farming life,

Five dol lar notecoastline of the South Island. As well as Campbell Island,

the hoiho can be found on Stewart and Auckland Islands.

Subantarctic lily (Bulbinella rossii)

The subantarctic lily produces spectacular yellow flower heads

in early summer and grows to a height of about one metre.

It is unique to the subantarctic.

Daisy (Pleurophyllum speciosum)

A giant member of the daisy family, this plant has colourful

white and violet flowers. On Campbell Island, the plants

grow close to the ground to help avoid wind chill and have

corrugated leaves to trap the limited solar energy available

there.

Bull kelp (Durvillaea antarctica)

Bull kelp can grow up to several metres long and is found on

New Zealand coasts as well as subantarctic islands. It has

very tough skin and the strands are honeycombed inside for

buoyancy.


Ten dol lar note

Fron tKate Sheppard (1848-1934)

Kate Sheppard was the most prominent leader of the

campaign for universal suffrage in New Zealand. She worked

tirelessly to organise and promote her cause. A long campaign

culminated in 1893 when New Zealand became the first

country in the world to extend voting rights to women.

White camellia

In 1893 white camellias were given to Members of Parliament

who had supported the bill to give New Zealand women the

vote. The flower has become a symbol of the fight for the

vote by New Zealand women. The flowers on the ten dollar

note are Camellia japonica alba plena.

BackBlue duck or whio (Hymenolaimus

malacorhynchos)

The rare blue duck is an endangered species which is found

mainly in mountainous areas of New Zealand. It usually lives

in pairs or family groups and prefers fast-flowing river habitats.

Now totally protected, the whio is making a comeback as

the population is steadily increasing.

Parahebe catarractae

This riverside plant, a close relative of the hebe – the largest

plant group unique to New Zealand – can be found in both

North and South Islands. It grows in crevices in rocks, beside

streams and sometimes in the spray of waterfalls. It can grow

up to 60cm high and is notable for its trailing stems and

attractive purple flowers.

Blechnum fern or mountain kiokio

This is a very common fern throughout New Zealand, which

grows best in damp and shady places. In young plants like

the specimen on the note, the fronds are tinged pink.

Below: The current series notes are the sixth; here isthe fourth series ten dollar note.


Twenty dol lar note

Fron tHer Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (1926-)

This note features an official portrait of the Queen taken at

Government House, Wellington, on 26 February 1986 by

Ronald Woolf. Her Majesty is wearing the Sovereign’s Badge

of the Order of New Zealand. The ribbon is based on a taniko

pattern.

Parliament Buildings, Wellington

The $20 note shows two of the three buildings of the New

Zealand Parliament, situated in Wellington. The older

building, an imposing structure clad in Takaka marble, houses

the Legislative Chamber. The foundations for this building

were laid in 1912, but the First World War delayed

construction and the building was not completed until 1922.

The distinctive Beehive Executive Wing, designed by Sir Basil

Spence, was begun in 1969 and completed in 1977.

BackNew Zealand falcon or karearea (Falco

novaseelandiae)

Sometimes called the bush hawk, the New Zealand falcon is

the most fearless of all our nation’s birds. An adaptable hunter

and a determined solitary predator, the falcon hunts small

birds and animals and can attack at speeds of up to 200kph.

The falcon is a high-country bird, seldom found north of

Rotorua, that favours isolated bush-clad mountain valleys.

Marlborough rock daisy (Pachystegia insignis)

This is a small spreading shrub unique to Marlborough and

North Canterbury. The plant is a distinctive feature of the

dry inland valleys of Marlborough with its thick leathery leaves

and large, spectacular flower heads. It grows in inaccessible

places such as cliff sides and the edges of steep scree slopes,

and can flourish in areas from sea level to 1200 metres.

Flowering red tussock (Chionchloa rubra)

There are 13 species of tussock grass in New Zealand, and

red tussock, which has a distinct red tinge to its leaves, is

found in both the North and South Islands. Tussock flowers

intermittently, is primarily found in alpine areas, and can live

for up to 200 years.

Mount Tapuaenuku, Inland Kaikouras

The highest peak in the South Island’s Inland Kaikoura range,

Mt Tapuaenuku is 2,885 metres high and dominates the

surrounding countryside. The view of the mountain on the

$20 note is from the east side of the Inland Kaikouras, looking

up from the Awatere Valley floor.


Fif ty dol lar note

Fron tSir Apirana Ngata (1874-1950)

Sir Apirana Ngata played a significant role in the revival of

the Maori people and culture during the early years of the

twentieth century. He was the first Maori to graduate from a

New Zealand university, was an accomplished leader of the

Young Maori Party and was an elected Member of Parliament

for 38 years. Ngata was respected by both Maori and Pakeha

and provided a focus for a social movement that rejuvenated

Maori culture. He was also a driving force behind the revival

of his own tribe, Ngati Porou.

Porourangi meeting house

Designed by Sir Apirana Ngata himself, the Porourangi

meeting house stands at Waiomatatini Marae, near Ruatoria

on the North Island’s east coast, and is a showcase for Maori

art.

Pureora Forest Park

Pureora Forest Park, established in 1978, covers 72,335

hectares close to Taupo in the central North Island. The park

takes its name from nearby Mount Pureora (1130 metres). It

is one of the most ecologically significant and beautiful forests

in New Zealand and is home to a large population of kokako.

Pureora has a dense interior with a huge variety of trees,

shrubs, epiphytes and vines forming an almost impenetrable

mass. Emergent podocarps include rimu, miro and matai,

some of which may be over 1000 years old.

Supplejack or kareao (Ripogonum scandens)

Supplejack leaves are eaten by kokako, and the plant forms

impenetrable thickets used by the birds for nesting. It can

grow up to 5 cm a day in summer. Supplejack produces

bright red berries once it emerges from the shade of the

forest canopy.

Sky-blue mushroom (Entoloma hochstetteri)

This mushroom, notable for its bright blue colour that fades

with age, grows throughout New Zealand in decomposing

plant remains.

Tukutuku pattern

The tukutuku pattern was designed by Sir Apirana Ngata

and is known as “poutama porourangi”. “Poutama” is the

style of tukutuku pattern meaning “stairway to heaven” and

“Porourangi” is the name of the Ngati Porou meeting house

which features the pattern.

BackKokako or blue wattled crow (Callaeas

cinerea)

The kokako is a large native bird with a distinctive steel-grey

body and a black face ‘mask’. The variety pictured on the

note is the South Island kokako. Kokako are much larger

than a tui, and prefer to hop up trees to gain enough height

to be able to glide. They seldom fly further than 100 metres.


Hundred dol lar note

Fron tErnest, Lord Rutherford of Nelson (1871-1937)

Internationally recognised as the ‘father of the atom’, Ernest

Rutherford changed the basic understanding of atomic

science on three occasions: he explained the perplexing

problem of naturally occurring radioactivity, determined the

structure of the atom, and changed one element into another.

Nobel Prize medal and diagram

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry, which Rutherford received in

1908, is represented on the note. Overlaying the medallion

is a graph plotting the results from Rutherford’s investigations

into naturally occurring radioactivity.

BackYellowhead or mohua (Mohoua ochrocephala)

The yellowhead, sometimes known as the bush canary, is a

diminutive and colourful bird. It is found in tracts of native

bush throughout the South Island, preferring the canopies

and sub-canopies of beech forests.

Red beech or tawhairaunui (Nothofagus fusca)

Beech forests are one of the two main types of forest in New

Zealand. Red beeches grow up to 30 metres high and are

named for the colour of the young tree’s leaves. Favouring

warmer and more fertile sites than do other beeches, their

red wood is considered to be the most durable. Red beech is

found in both North and South Islands and is the favoured

habitat of the yellowheads in the Eglinton Valley.

Eglinton Valley

Located within the Fiordland National Park on the Te Anau-

Milford Sound highway, the Eglinton Valley is home to a

particularly fine stand of red beech and a thriving population

of yellowheads.

South Island lichen moth (Declana egregia)

Found in Fiordland beech forests, this distinctively patterned

moth blends perfectly with the lichens that cling to the trunks

of the trees. The caterpillar form is strikingly coloured but is

just as skilled at disguising itself.


New Zealand’s coinsHow a re ou r co in s made?Coins are made in two stages. To start with, blank circles are

cut from long sheets of metal. These blanks become coins

when they pass through stamping machines, which apply

huge pressure to impress the distinctive “head” and “tail”

features. New Zealand’s coins have recently been made at

the South African Mint, although at various times in the past

the Royal Mints of Britain, Canada and Australia have

manufactured our coins.

Although we usually refer to our coins as silver or gold, they

are actually made from a mixture of different metals and

contain neither silver nor gold. The ‘silver’ coins (50, 20, 10

and 5 cent pieces) are a cupro-nickel compound of 75 percent

copper and 25 per cent nickel. The gold-coloured $1 and $2

coins are struck in an aluminium-bronze alloy of 92 per cent

copper, 6 per cent aluminium and 2 per cent nickel. Coins

last, on average, for about twenty years.

Forgery of coins is fairly uncommon, simply because all the

work in forging a coin is hardly worth the small reward!

Nevertheless, all designs on a real coin should be clearly

defined, and it should have a distinct ring when dropped on

a table-top, rather than a ‘thud’.

The Reserve Bank accepts for exchange any demonetised

coins and notes (i.e. currency no longer in circulation) at its

Wellington head office. This includes 1 and 2 cent coins,

which were phased out in 1989 and demonetised in 1990.

In 1997 the Reserve Bank considered taking 5 cent coins out

of circulation and changing the size of the 20 and 50 cent

coins. After wide consultation with the public, it was decided

to retain the status quo. Many people wanted to keep the 5

cent coin and there was some opposition to changing the

size of the 20 cent and 50 cent coins, particularly from the

coin-operated machine industry.

Des ignsDesigns on the back of New Zealand’s coins (the “tail” side)

haven’t changed significantly since decimal currency was

introduced in 1967. A 20 cent piece featuring a Maori carving

was released in 1990, because the kiwi motif was moved to

the $1 coin. The 20 cent piece with the kiwi is still very

common though, so you are likely to see both coins.

The “heads” design featuring the Queen’s portrait was

updated in 1986 and again in 1999. When the $1 and $2

notes were taken out of circulation in 1991, they were

replaced by the gold-coloured kiwi $1 coin and the $2 coin

featuring the kotuku.

Commemora t i ve Cur rencyTo mark special occasions, or to honour special people,

commemorative coins are produced from time to time by

the Reserve Bank. These coins are legal tender (see page 3),

but do not circulate.


New Zealand ’s co insFive cen t sAlloy: Cupro-nickel

Diameter: 19.43mm

Weight: 2.83g

Design: The last surviving member of an otherwise extinct

family of reptiles, the tuatara, native only to New Zealand, is

shown sitting on a coastal rock.

Ten cen t sAlloy: Cupro-nickel

Diameter: 23.62mm

Weight: 5.66g

Design: A Maori carved head or koruru.

Twen ty cen t sAlloy: Cupro-nickel

Diameter: 28.58mm

Weight: 11.31g

Design: There are two designs currently in usage. One

features a representation of a well-known Maori carving,

taken from the gateway of a pa in the Rotorua region in the

early nineteenth century. The carving belongs to the Arawa

people, who have given their permission to use the image

on the coin. The other coin in common usage features the

kiwi.


Two do l l a rAlloy: Aluminium bronze

Diameter: 26.5mm

Weight: 10.0g

Design: The kotuku (white heron) is one of New Zealand’s

rarest birds and is held in particularly high regard in Maori

mythology.

Fi f t y cen t sAlloy: Cupro-nickel

Diameter: 31.75mm

Weight: 13.61g

Design: The barque Endeavour, commanded by Captain

Cook, sailing south, with Mount Taranaki or Egmont in the

distance.

One do l l a rAlloy: Aluminium bronze

Diameter: 23mm

Weight: 8.0g

Design: New Zealand’s national bird, the kiwi, brings reality

to the colloquial term, ‘Kiwi Dollar’.


1840

Standard gold, silver and bronze British coins, as well as other

foreign coins, circulate freely in New Zealand.

1857—1881

Coin shortage means that some retailers issue their own

tokens.

1897

British coinage becomes New Zealand’s official currency.

1914

Gradual withdrawal of gold coin from circulation.

1933

New Zealand introduces its own coinage.

1934

Reserve Bank of New Zealand issues first series of bank notes.

1935

British coinage ceases to be legal tender in New Zealand.

1940

Second series of bank notes introduced.

1940

Bronze coins (penny and halfpenny) issued for the first time.

1947

Cupro-nickel coins first appear in circulation, replacing silver

coins.

1967

Change to decimal currency. Third series of bank notes issued.

1981—1983

Fourth series of bank notes issued.

1989

Stopped issuing 1c and 2c coins. Demonetised in April 1990.

1990

New Maori carving 20 cent coin issued.

Currency t imel ine1991

$1 and $2 coins issued. $1 and $2 notes demonetised in

April 1993.

1992—1993

Fifth series of bank notes issued, bearing first new designs

since 1967.

1999—2000

Sixth series of bank notes issued in polymer.


Ear l y daysBefore the first Europeans arrived in New Zealand, Maori did

not use currency. Items of value were traded by barter. When

Europeans first settled here, Maori and Pakeha traded in this

way as well, until coins started to appear around the 1830s.

European colonists brought with them a variety of coins -

mostly British, but some French, Dutch and other currencies

as well - and started using them for buying things. There

weren’t many bank notes around at that time, generally

because the notes were of higher value than were needed

for transactions. Early bank notes were issued by individual

banks and payable only

by those banks. At first,

there were few printing

facilities in New Zealand,

so the durability of coins

was a real advantage.

In 1849, William Hobson,

New Zealand’s first

Governor, proclaimed

that British laws should

apply to New Zealand

and currency became subject to the Imperial Coinage Act of

1816. Because of this Act, coins in use became legal tender.

Due to a shortage of coins in 1857 and especially copper

coins, 48 traders throughout New Zealand (mostly retailers

such as merchants, grocers, drapers and milliners) decided

to issue their own penny and halfpenny tokens, some of which

circulated until 1881. Tokens were profitable for the traders

because the cost of producing them was well below their

face value and many were never cashed in because they were

easy to lose. They were a good source of advertising too, as

each token carried the business’s name.

A mixture of foreign coins was used from 1879 up until 1897,

when the Imperial Coinage Act made British coins New

Zealand’s official currency. At this time, British coinage was

already one of the two ‘common’ currencies, along with

Australian gold and silver coins.

By the late nineteenth century, bank notes were becoming

more common. By then, there were six banks operating in

New Zealand, each issuing its own notes. The problem with

this was that none of the notes being issued by the various

banks were the same size or design and there was a large

variety of different notes for each of the common

A brief his tory of New Zealand’scurrency

One of the notes printed by King Tawhiao (1825-1894) forhis Bank of Aotearoa. The notes were never circulated.Tawhiao was commemorated with a portrait on the firstReserve Bank note issue (below).


denominations. It wasn’t until 1924 that banks finally co-

ordinated the size and colour of notes. A bank was not

obliged to accept another bank’s notes either, although most

usually did.

In 1934, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand was established

as New Zealand’s central bank and was given sole authority

by the government to issue bank notes. This ended circulation

of the trading banks’ notes.

The Rese rve Bank i s sues bankno te sThe first Reserve Bank notes were issued on the day the

Reserve Bank of New Zealand was established , 1 August

1934.

These first notes were supposed to be only temporary, as

they had been hastily designed. A committee to prepare the

designs had been formed just the year before and there had

been heated debates over what the notes should look like.

The designs that the committee finally came up with included

features from the Bank of New Zealand notes that were

circulating then.

The designs included a portrait of the Maori King Tawhiao

(who had attempted unsuccessfully to issue his own notes in

1885), a kiwi, and the Arms of New Zealand. The notes

included the signature of the first Governor of the Reserve

Bank, Leslie Lefeaux. All the notes carried the same design,

but different colours distinguished denominations. Notes of

10/- (ten shillings), £1 (one pound), £5 and £50 were issued,

coloured orange, mauve, blue-green and red respectively.

The Reserve Bank’s second note issue was in 1940, timed to

coincide with New Zealand’s centennial celebrations. These

notes had quite different designs for each denomination, but

were the same colours as before, except for slight changes

to avoid confusion between the 10/- and £50 notes. The

Reserve Bank’s Chief Cashiers signed this and following note

issues. These notes remained in circulation up until the change

to decimal currency in 1967.

Although the Reserve Bank issued bank notes, for many years

the New Zealand Treasury was responsible for designing and

issuing coins. The first distinctively New Zealand coins were

introduced in February 1933 as a result of a proclamation

issued under the Coinage Act in that year. Minted by the

Royal Mint in London, these coins were the same as the

weight, size and denomination of British coins. Silver coloured

coins, made of an alloy of 50% silver and 50% copper, were

issued from 1933, and bronze pennies and halfpennies were

introduced in 1940. In 1947 the silver coloured coins were

changed to an alloy of copper and nickel when silver became

too costly.

It wasn’t until 1989, when government services were

rationalised, that the Reserve Bank gained authority over

coinage. At the same time, one and two cent coins were

withdrawn from circulation and ceased to be legal tender in

early 1990.

The changeove r t o dec ima lcu r r encyThe concept of decimal currency had been discussed for a

long time in New Zealand. Way back in 1933, a changeover

to decimal coinage had been suggested by the New Zealand

Numismatic Society. The attraction of decimal currency was

its simplicity when doing calculations. By contrast, the

Above: The second series five pound note.

Mr Dollar


with a distinctive New Zealand look. The designs of the notes

were changed slightly in 1999 when the Reserve Bank

introduced polymer bank notes. These designs are detailed

on pages 8-12.

Defac ing bank no t e sThe Reserve Bank Act 1989 says that “No person shall,

without the prior consent of the Bank, wilfully deface,

disfigure, or mutilate any bank note.” A person can be fined

up to $1,000 if caught defacing a bank note.

Are damaged no t e s wo r thany th ing?If you come across a badly damaged bank note, don’t throw

it away, as it will normally have some value. The Reserve

Bank is liable to pay on currency it issues, provided that the

note is not so badly damaged that it is unrecognisable. In

extreme cases, individual assessments of notes may need to

be made. As a rule of thumb, if you have half a note, the

Reserve Bank will pay half its value. To receive payment on a

damaged note, you need to present it to a bank or to the

Reserve Bank in Wellington.

‘imperial’ system of currency was complicated and difficult

to master. Under the imperial system, pounds were divided

into twenty shillings, and subdivided further into 240 pence

(making twelve pence per shilling). In 1933, decimal currency

was rejected because it would have been too expensive to

put in place at that time, especially as New Zealand was in

the midst of the Great Depression.

In 1957, a special committee was set up by the Government

to take another look at the pros and cons of decimal currency.

This committee supported the introduction of the decimal

system and paved the way for New Zealand’s move to decimal

currency. In August 1963, the Government announced that

10 July 1967 would be ‘DC Day’, and a massive publicity

campaign was organised to smooth the shift from the imperial

to decimal system.

Public discussions were held as to what the new decimal unit

might be called, and suggestions such as the “kiwi” and the

“zeal” were debated before the “dollar” was finally settled

upon. Many New Zealanders remember “Mr Dollar”, a

cartoon character that symbolised the changeover. On DC

Day, dollars and cents replaced pounds, shillings and pence

as New Zealand’s units of currency.

In 1990, the Reserve Bank decided to completely revamp the

appearance and features of New Zealand’s bank notes - the

first overhaul since the introduction of decimal currency in

1967. The result, after the Reserve Bank had consulted widely

with the New Zealand public, was an all-new series of notes

Reproduc ing o r im i t a t i ngcu r r encyIt is an offence to reproduce or imitate currency without the

prior consent of the Reserve Bank. The Reserve Bank Act

says that you cannot “make, design, engrave, print, or

reproduce; or use, issue, or publish any article or thing

resembling a bank note or coin or so nearly resembling or

having such a likeness to a bank note or coin as to be likely

to be confused with or mistaken for it”.

Real notes fluoresce under ultraviolet light. An operatorin the Reserve Bank checks a note for validity.

For further information please contact:

Lisa Weekes

Corporate Affairs Section

Reserve Bank of New Zealand

PO Box 2498

Wellington

Telephone 04 471 3767, fax 04 471 2270

email: [email protected]

Visit our web site www.rbnz.govt.nz

May 2000

Documents

New Zealand Currency - notes and coins