Explaining Currency

N e w Z e a l a n d s b a n k n o t e s a n d c o i n s

Contents
Introduction
What is money? What is legal tender?

N e w Z e a l a n d s c o i n s
How are our coins made? Coin design

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To d a y s b a n k n o t e s
Plastic fantastic The life-cycle of a bank note Security features to look for Special edition millennium $10 note

Commemorative currency Five cents Ten cents Twenty cents Fifty cents

Bank notes: A closer look

Five dollar note Ten dollar note Twenty dollar note Fifty dollar note Hundred dollar note

One dollar Two dollar

Currency timeline

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A b r i e f h i s t o r y o f N e w Z e a l a n d s c u r r e n c y 1 7
Early days The Reserve Bank issues bank notes Decimal currency Defacing bank notes Are damaged notes worth anything? Reproducing or imitating currency

Explaining Currency: New Zealands bank notes and coins

Introduction
We 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 Zealands 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. 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. Theres 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 So, for example, a shop doesnt have to accept a cheque, and it doesnt 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 cant 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

What is 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 didnt want your cow, as he or she wanted some sheep instead, which you didnt have? Thats 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.

conveniently.

What is legal tender?

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.

coins and determine the denominations and design of the nations currency.

Explaining Currency: New Zealands bank notes and coins

Todays bank notes

Plastic fantastic
All New Zealands 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 dont 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. 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 Banks 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 Zealands 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

The life-cycle of a bank note

Design
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.

printing hall. The polymer substrate, on which the bank notes are printed, starts out as a large roll of clear plastic film.

Explaining Currency: New Zealands bank notes and coins

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.

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. 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 computercontrolled 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.

Explaining Currency: New Zealands bank notes and coins

Security features to look for

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. 5. 2. There is a fern immediately above the clear fernshaped window. When you hold the note to the light, the fern should match perfectly with another fern on the other side. 6. Tiny micro-printed letters RBNZ should be visible with a magnifying glass. Polymer notes have raised printing, which stands up on the surface and can be felt when you run your fingers over it. 4. 3. You should easily be able to see a shadow image of the Queen when you hold the note to the light. Each note has an individual serial number printed horizontally and vertically. 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.

5 Raised printing 4 Individual serial number

3 Shadow image of 2 Fern matches both sides Queen Elizabeth II

1 Transparent window

1 Transparent window

6 Micro-printing
6 Explaining Currency: New Zealands bank notes and coins

The special edition millennium $10 note

In 1999, the Reserve Bank issued a special $10 bank note to commemorate the new millennium. This limited edition note depicts New Zealands development into the digital age and some of the recreational pursuits that make New Zealand special. The design features on the note represent New Zealands past and its future. The front shows a Maori war canoe, symbolising New Zealands journey. It also shows New Zealands 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 notes clear window.

Explaining Currency: New Zealands bank notes and coins

Five dollar note

coastline 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.

Front
Sir Edmund Hillary (1919-)
Sir Edmund Hillary is New Zealands 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.

these tractors proved adaptable to the harsh Antarctic conditions, requiring only minor modifications.

It is unique to the subantarctic.

Daisy (Pleurophyllum speciosum)

Back
Campbell Island scene
Campbell Island is the southernmost of New Zealands

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.

Mount Cook or Aorangi

Mount Cook, in New Zealands South Island, is New Zealands highest mountain. It was the scene of Sir Edmund Hillarys earliest climbing successes, and is still regarded by Hillary as one of his favourite mountains.

outlying islands about 600 kilometres southeast of Stewart Island. Campbell Island has an area of 114 square kilometres.

Bull kelp (Durvillaea antarctica) Yellow-eyed penguin or hoiho (Megadyptes antipodes)

The distinctive thing about the yellow-eyed penguin is its 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.

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,

yellow iris and yellow band of feathers across the back of its head. One of the worlds rarest penguins, it can be found on sea-facing scrub and forested slopes along the southeastern

Explaining Currency: New Zealands bank notes and coins

Ten dollar note

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.

Front
Kate 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.

Back
Blue 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.

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

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.

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.

Explaining Currency: New Zealands bank notes and coins

Twenty dollar note

Front
Her 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 Sovereigns Badge of the Order of New Zealand. The ribbon is based on a taniko pattern.

Back
New Zealand falcon or karearea (Falco novaseelandiae)
Sometimes called the bush hawk, the New Zealand falcon is the most fearless of all our nations 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.

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 Islands Inland Kaikoura range, Mt Tapuaenuku is 2,885 metres high and dominates the

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. 10

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.

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.

Explaining Currency: New Zealands bank notes and coins

Fifty dollar note

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,

Front
Sir 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.

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.

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

Back
Kokako or blue wattled crow (Callaeas cinerea)
The kokako is a large native bird with a distinctive steel-grey

bright red berries once it emerges from the shade of the forest canopy.

Porourangi meeting house

Designed by Sir Apirana Ngata himself, the Porourangi meeting house stands at Waiomatatini Marae, near Ruatoria on the North Islands east coast, and is a showcase for Maori art.

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.

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.

Explaining Currency: New Zealands bank notes and coins

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Hundred dollar note

Front
Ernest, 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.

Back
Yellowhead 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.

Eglinton Valley
Located within the Fiordland National Park on the Te AnauMilford 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) Red beech or tawhairaunui (Nothofagus fusca) 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 Rutherfords investigations into naturally occurring radioactivity. 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 trees 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. 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.

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Explaining Currency: New Zealands bank notes and coins

New Zealands coins

How are our coins 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 Zealands 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.

Designs
Designs on the back of New Zealands coins (the tail side) havent 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 Queens 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.

Commemorative Currency
To 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.

Explaining Currency: New Zealands bank notes and coins

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N e w Z e a l a n d s c o i n s
Five cents
Alloy: 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.

Te n c e n t s
Alloy: Cupro-nickel Diameter: 23.62mm Weight: 5.66g Design: A Maori carved head or koruru.

Tw e n t y c e n t s
Alloy: 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.

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Explaining Currency: New Zealands bank notes and coins

Fifty cents
Alloy: 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 dollar
Alloy: Aluminium bronze Diameter: 23mm Weight: 8.0g Design: New Zealands national bird, the kiwi, brings reality to the colloquial term, Kiwi Dollar.

Tw o d o l l a r
Alloy: Aluminium bronze Diameter: 26.5mm Weight: 10.0g Design: The kotuku (white heron) is one of New Zealands rarest birds and is held in particularly high regard in Maori mythology.

Explaining Currency: New Zealands bank notes and coins

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Currency timeline
1840 Standard gold, silver and bronze British coins, as well as other foreign coins, circulate freely in New Zealand. 18571881 Coin shortage means that some retailers issue their own tokens. 1897 British coinage becomes New Zealands 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. 19811983 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. 1991 $1 and $2 coins issued. $1 and $2 notes demonetised in April 1993. 19921993 Fifth series of bank notes issued, bearing first new designs since 1967. 19992000 Sixth series of bank notes issued in polymer.

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Explaining Currency: New Zealands bank notes and coins

A brief history of New Zealands currency

Early days
Before 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 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 businesss name. A mixture of foreign coins was used from 1879 up until 1897, when the Imperial Coinage Act made British coins New Zealands 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 In 1849, William Hobson, New Zealands first Governor, proclaimed that British laws should apply to New Zealand 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 17

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

werent 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.

Explaining Currency: New Zealands bank notes and coins

denominations. It wasnt until 1924 that banks finally coordinated the size and colour of notes. A bank was not obliged to accept another banks notes either, although most usually did. In 1934, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand was established as New Zealands central bank and was given sole authority by the government to issue bank notes. This ended circulation of the trading banks notes.

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 wasnt 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

Above: The second series five pound note.

but different colours distinguished denominations. Notes of 10/- (ten shillings), 1 (one pound), 5 and 50 were issued,

withdrawn from circulation and ceased to be legal tender in early 1990.

The Reserve Bank issues bank notes

The 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,

coloured orange, mauve, blue-green and red respectively. The Reserve Banks second note issue was in 1940, timed to coincide with New Zealands 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 Banks 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

The changeover to decimal currency

The 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

Mr Dollar

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Explaining Currency: New Zealands bank notes and coins

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 Zealands 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 Zealands units of currency. In 1990, the Reserve Bank decided to completely revamp the appearance and features of New Zealands 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

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.

Defacing bank notes

The 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 notes worth anything?

If you come across a badly damaged bank note, dont 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.

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

Reproducing or imitating currency

It 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.

Explaining Currency: New Zealands bank notes and coins

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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: rbnz-info@rbnz.govt.nz

Visit our web site www.rbnz.govt.nz

May 2000