New Zealand pound

New Zealand pound
ISO 4217 code	NZP
Central bank	Reserve Bank of New Zealand
Website	www.rbnz.govt.nz
User(s)	New Zealand, Cook Islands, Niue, Pitcairn Islands, Tokelau
Subunit
¹⁄₂₀	shilling
¹⁄₂₄₀	penny
Symbol	£
shilling	s
penny	d
Coins
Freq. used	¹⁄₂d, 1d, 3d, 6d, 1s, 2s, 2 ¹⁄₂s
Rarely used	5s
Banknotes	10s, £1, £5, £10, £50
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete.

The pound (symbol £, or NZ£ for distinction) was the currency of New Zealand from 1840 until 1967, when it was replaced by the New Zealand dollar.

Like the British pound, it was subdivided into 20 shillings (symbol s) each of 12 pence (symbol d). As a result of the great depression of the early 1930s, the New Zealand agricultural export market to the UK was badly affected. The Australian banks, which controlled the New Zealand exchanges with London, decided to devalue the New Zealand pound in relation to sterling in the UK. By 1933, the New Zealand pound had fallen to a value of only 16 shillings sterling. In 1948 however, it was once again restored to its original sterling value. In 1967, New Zealand decimalised its currency, replacing the pound with the dollar at a rate of $2 = £1 (or $1 = 10s). In November of that year, the pound sterling devalued, and New Zealand used this as an opportunity to re-align its new dollar to parity with the Australian dollar. For a more general view of history in the wider region, see History of pound sterling in Oceania.

Coins

Initially, British and Australian coins circulated in New Zealand. The devaluation of the New Zealand pound relative to sterling in the 1930s led to the issue of distinct New Zealand coins in 1933, in denominations of 3d, 6d, 1s, 2s (the florin) and 2 ¹⁄₂s (the half-crown), minted in 50% silver until 1946 and in cupro-nickel from 1947. In 1940, bronze ½d and 1d coins were introduced. All these denominations were the same size and weight as their equivalents in the Australian and UK coinage (although Australia never minted the half-crown). When the UK introduced the nickel-brass twelve sided threepenny bit, New Zealand continued to use the smaller silver coin until decimalisation in 1967.

Reverse Image	Value	Technical Parameters				Description			Date of
	Value	Diameter	Thickness	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse	Issue	Withdrawal
	¹⁄₂d (half penny)	26 mm		5.7 g	Bronze	Plain	King George VI (1940–52) Queen Elizabeth II (1953-67)	A Māori hei-tiki (neck pendant) with ornamental tukutuku patterns on each side	1940
	1d (one penny)	31 mm		9.5 g	Bronze	Plain	King George VI (1940–52) Queen Elizabeth II (1953-67)	A tui perched in a setting of yellow kowhai blossoms	1940
	3d (three pence)	16 mm		1.4 g	50% silver (1933-1946) Cupronickel (1947-1967)	Plain	King George V (1933-1936) King George VI (1937-1952) Queen Elizabeth II (1953-1967)	Two carved patu (Maori weapons) crossed with lanyards or throngs attached, with “3d” between their blades	1933
	6d (six pence)	19 mm		2.9 g		Continuously milled		A huia perched on a branch		31 October 2006¹
	1s (one shilling)	23 mm		5.7 g		Continuously milled		A figure of a Maori warrior in warlike attitude carrying a taiaha
	2s (2 shillings, a.k.a. one "florin")	28.5 mm		11.3 g				A kiwi facing left
	2 ¹⁄₂s (2 ¹⁄₂ shillings, or 2s 6d, a.k.a. 2 shillings 6 pence, or one "half crown")	32 mm		14.1 g				Arms of New Zealand on a background of Māori carvings.
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table.

Notes:

The sixpence, shilling, and florin (2 shilling), although rarely seen in circulation, remained legal tender as late as 2006, being used as the identical size and value of its decimal successors: the 5c (cents), 10c, and 20c coins respectively. They were demonetised on 31 October 2006, when the 5c coin and the original 10c and 20c coins were withdrawn from circulation.

Commemorative crowns (full crowns, or five shillings, or two half crowns) were minted in 1935, 1949, and 1953 for the Treaty of Waitangi, a royal visit, and the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, respectively.

Banknotes

Until 1934, private trading banks issued notes. The first bank notes were issued in New Zealand in 1840 by the New Zealand Banking Company at Russell followed a few months later by the Union Bank of Australia in Wellington. These banks issued notes in New Zealand:

New Zealand Banking Company (1840–1845)
Union Bank of Australia (1840–1934)
Otago Banking Company (unsuccessful issuer in 1851)
Oriental Bank Corporation (1857–1861)
Bank of New South Wales (1861–1934)
Bank of New Zealand (1861–1934)
Commercial Bank of New Zealand (1863–1866)
Bank of Australasia (1863–1934)
Bank of Auckland (1864–1867)
Bank of Otago (1864–1874)
Colonial Bank of New Zealand (1873–1895)
National Bank of New Zealand (1874–1934)
Bank of Aotearoa (unsuccessful issuer c. 1886)
Commercial Bank of Australia (1912–1934)

Between 1852 and 1856, the Colonial Bank of Issue was the only banknote issuing body. Public distrust of these notes soon led to their redemption with Union Bank notes. The discovery of gold in 1861 encouraged competing banks into New Zealand leading to a variety of note issue. By 1924, public demand for convenience in usage led to the six remaining issuing banks agreeing a "Uniform" standard size and colour for each denomination.

When the Reserve Bank of New Zealand was established on 1 August 1934 by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1933, it became the sole issuer of notes.^[1] This government agency introduced notes for 10s, £1, £5 and £50. In 1940, £10 notes were added. Only two series of £1 notes were printed. The first (1934–40) featured the portrait of Matutaera Te Pukepuke Te Paue Te Karato Te-a-Pōtatau Tāwhiao, the second (1940–67) featured Captain James Cook.

Showing who issued the New Zealand pound and during which years.

The private trading banks that issued the NZ pound between 1840 and 1934, and the Reserve Bank until 1967.

Present status

Coins and uncancelled notes issued by the six private trading banks operating in 1934 as well as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand are still redeemable at the RBNZ offices in Wellington. The RBNZ has an obligation to redeem private bank notes. Under the 1933 Reserve Bank Act the privately held gold was confiscated and paid for in RBNZ banknotes.

In all cases, the currency's value to collectors is now far higher than its face value, due to its rarity. A prime example is a first issue Union Bank £1 from the 1840s returned to New Zealand in 1934, for redemption at face value, by its owner in the United States. Today a similar note would be valued in excess of £10,000 sterling. £50 notes of the Reserve Bank are also extremely rare and fetch a high price from collectors. The note signed by Chief Cashier T. P. Hannah in uncirculated condition could fetch as high as NZ$25,000 according to the premier value listing for New Zealand notes and coins (some other lesser valued notes signed by Hannah exist).

Notes

↑ Linzmayer, Owen (2012). "New Zealand". The Banknote Book. San Francisco: www.BanknoteNews.com.

References

Krause, Chester L., and Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501.
Pick, Albert (1994). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues. Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (7th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-207-9.
Hawke, G.R., "The Making of New Zealand: an Economic History" (1985)
Grant. Anthony W., "Premier: the New Zealand Coin and Banknote Catalogue" 2011

Preceded by: No modern predecessor	Currency of New Zealand 1840 – 9 July 1967	Succeeded by: New Zealand dollar Reason: decimalisation Ratio: 2 dollars = 1 pound

New Zealand currency

Coins	10c 20c 50c $1 $2

Banknotes	$5 $10 $20 $50 $100

Withdrawn	Coins : 1c 2c 5c Banknotes : $1 $2

Historic (before 1967)	Pound sterling (UK) New Zealand pound

Related topics	Banks : Reserve Bank of New Zealand Currencies : AUD NZD Transactions : Swedish rounding

Economy of New Zealand

History	Head tax, 1881 IC&A Act, 1894 Wool boom, 1951 Black Budget, 1958 Think Big, 1979-84 Rogernomics, 1984-90 Ruthanasia, 1990-93 Leaky homes crisis, 2000s Finance company collapses, 2006-12

Currency	New Zealand dollar Dollar banknotes twenty Dollar coins one Twenty-cent coin New Zealand pound

Government	Taxation New Zealand Treasury New Zealand budget New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Reserve Bank of New Zealand Official Cash Rate Overseas Investment Office Commerce Commission KiwiSaver

Industry	Agriculture New Zealand Meat Producers Board New Zealand Dairy Board New Zealand Wool Board Beer Fishing Aquaculture Whaling Forestry Woodchipping Kauri gum Licensing trust Mining Tourism

Economic conditions	Social class Income Poverty International rankings

Agreements	Closer Economic Relations Free trade agreements Malaysia China Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification

Unions and lobbyists	Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa New Zealand Business Roundtable New Zealand Council of Trade Unions The New Zealand Institute

Currencies named pound or similar

Current	Pound sterling: (Alderney pound • Falkland Islands pound • Gibraltar pound • Guernsey pound • Jersey pound • Manx pound • Saint Helena pound) Egyptian pound Lebanese pound South Sudanese pound Sudanese pound Syrian pound Turkish lira

Local alternative currency	Bristol Pound Brixton Pound Lewes Pound Stroud Pound Totnes Pound

Defunct	Anglo-Saxon pound Australian pound Bahamian pound Bermudian pound Biafran pound British West African pound Canadian pound Connecticut pound Cypriot pound Delaware pound Fijian pound French livre French colonial livre Gambian pound Georgia pound Ghanaian pound Haitian livre Irish pound Israeli pound Italian lira Jamaican pound Japanese government-issued Oceanian Pound Libyan pound Livre tournois Lombardo-Venetian pound Luccan pound Malawian pound Maltese pound Maltese lira Maryland pound Massachusetts pound New Brunswick pound New France livre New Guinean pound New Hampshire pound New Jersey pound New York pound New Zealand pound Newfoundland pound Nigerian pound North Carolina pound Nova Scotian pound Oceanian pound Ottoman lira Palestine pound Papal lira Paris livre Parman lira Pennsylvania pound Pound Scots Prince Edward Island pound Rhode Island pound Rhodesian pound Rhodesia and Nyasaland pound Sammarinese lira Sardinian lira Solomon Islands pound South Carolina pound Southern Rhodesian pound South African pound South African Republic pound South West African pound Tongan pound Tuscan pound Vatican lira Virginia pound West Indian pound Western Samoan pound Zambian pound

See also	Dinar Pound sign Troy pound

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