New Zealand pound

The pound (symbol £, £NZ. for distinction) was the currency of New Zealand from 1933 until 1967, when it was replaced by the New Zealand dollar. Prior to this, New Zealand used the pound sterling since the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. Like the pound sterling, it was subdivided into 20 shillings (abbreviation s or /) each of 12 pence (symbol d).

History

Up until the outbreak of the First World War, the New Zealand pound was at parity with one pound sterling.

As a result of the Great Depression of the early 1930s, the New Zealand agricultural export market to the UK was badly affected. Australian banks, which controlled the New Zealand exchanges with London, devalued the New Zealand pound to match the value of the Australian pound in 1933, from parity or £NZ 1 = £1 sterling to £NZ 1 = 16s sterling (£0.8). In 1948 it returned to parity with sterling or £NZ 1 = £1 sterling.

In 1967, New Zealand decimalised its currency, replacing the pound with the dollar at a rate of $NZ 2 = £NZ 1 (or $NZ 1 = 10/– NZ). In November of that year, the British government devalued sterling from £1 sterling = US$2.80 to US$2.40, but the New Zealand dollar was devalued even more from $NZ 1 = US$1.40 to US$1.12 in order to match the value of the Australian dollar.

Coins

Template:Further information 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, 1/– (one shilling), 2/– (or florin) and 2/6 (half-crown), minted in 50% silver until 1946 and in copper-nickel from 1947. In 1940, bronze 1⁄2d 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 a 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	Equivalent in cents (c)	Technical Parameters				Description			Date of
			Diameter	Thickness	Mass	Composition	Edge	Obverse	Reverse	Issue	Withdrawal
File:1940 New Zealand Half-penny, reverse.png	1⁄2d (half penny)	0.4167c	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
File:1940 New Zealand Penny, Reverse, Proof.png	1d (one penny)	0.8333c	31 mm		9.5 g				A tūī perched in a setting of yellow kōwhai blossoms
File:1933 Threepence, New Zealand, Reverse.png	3d (three pence)	2.5c	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 (Māori weapons) crossed with lanyards or thongs attached, with "3d" between their blades	1933
File:1934 New Zealand Sixpence, Reverse.png	6d (six pence)	5c	19 mm		2.9 g		Continuously milled		A huia perched on a branch		31 October 20061
File:1933 Shilling, New Zealand, Reverse.png	1/– (one shilling)	10c	23 mm		5.7 g				A figure of a Māori warrior in warlike attitude carrying a taiaha
File:1933 New Zealand Florin, Reverse, Proof.png	2/– (2 shillings, one florin)	20c	28.5 mm		11.3 g				A kiwi facing left
File:1933 New Zealand Half-Crown, Reverse, Proof.png	2/6 (2+1⁄2 shillings, 2 shillings and 6 pence, half crown)	25c	32 mm		14.1 g				Arms of New Zealand on a background of Māori carvings.
File:1953 New Zealand Crown, Reverse, Proof.png	5/– (crown, five shillings)	50c	38.8 mm		28.3 g	50% silver (1935, 1949) Cupronickel (1953)			Commemorative only2
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table. Notes: Template:Olist

File:1935 proof Waitangi Crown reverse.jpg

The 1935 Waitangi crown, the first commemorative coin of New Zealand

Three commemorative crowns were minted: the Waitangi crown in 1935, a crown to commemorate a proposed royal visit in 1940, and a crown to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

Banknotes

Until 1934, private trading banks issued notes. The first bank notes were issued in New Zealand in March 1840 by the Union Bank of Australia at Britannia, now Wellington, then the New Zealand Banking Company followed in September 1840 at Kororareka, now Russell. These banks issued notes in New Zealand:

• Union Bank of Australia (March 1840 – July 1934)
• New Zealand Banking Company (September 1840 – January 1845)
• Colonial Bank of Issue (1847–1856)
• Otago Banking Company (unsuccessful issuer in 1851)
• Oriental Bank Corporation (1857 – May 1861)
• Bank of New South Wales (May 1861 – July 1934)
• Bank of New Zealand (October 1861 – July 1934)
• Commercial Bank of New Zealand (1863–1866)
• Bank of Australasia (1863 – July 1934)
• Bank of Auckland (December 1864 – June 1867)
• Bank of Otago (1864–1874)
• Colonial Bank of New Zealand (1873 – November 1895)
• National Bank of New Zealand (1874 – July 1934)
• Bank of Aotearoa (unsuccessful issuer c. Template:Trim)
• Commercial Bank of Australia (1912 – July 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.

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.

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. This government agency introduced notes for 10/–, £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.

The last circulating second series banknotes of the New Zealand pound, at the time of decimalisation in 1967, are described in the following table.

Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Colour		Description			Date of issue
Obverse	Reverse					Obverse	Reverse	Watermark
File:New Zealand 10 shilling note obverse series 2.jpg	File:New Zealand 10 shilling note reverse series 2.jpg	10/- (ten shillings)	7 × 3½ in (178 × 89 mm)		Brown	Captain James Cook, Coat of arms of New Zealand	Kiwi, Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi	Kīngi Tāwhiao	1940
File:New Zealand 1 pound note obverse series 2.jpg	File:New Zealand 1 pound note reverse series 2.jpg	£1			Purple		HMS Endeavour at sea
File:New Zealand 5 pound note obverse series 2.jpg	File:New Zealand 5 pound note reverse series 2.jpg	£5			Blue		Fantail, Lake Pukaki and Aoraki / Mount Cook
File:New Zealand 10 pound note obverse series 2.jpg	File:New Zealand 10 pound note reverse series 2.jpg	£10			Green	Captain James Cook, Crowned escutcheon, sailing ship	Ponga, scene with sheep and tī kōuka (cabbage tree)
File:New Zealand 50 pound note obverse series 2.jpg	File:New Zealand 50 pound note reverse series 2.jpg	£50			Red		Tūī, dairy farm scene and Mount Taranaki
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

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. £NZ.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. Hanna 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 Hanna exist).

References

• Hawke, G.R., "The Making of New Zealand: an Economic History" (1985)
• Grant. Anthony W., "Premier: the New Zealand Coin and Banknote Catalogue" 2011

External links

• New Zealand coins price guide and values (pre-decimal coins)
• Coins from New Zealand – Online Coin Club

Preceded by: Pound sterling

Currency of New Zealand 1933 – 9 July 1967

Succeeded by: New Zealand dollar Reason: decimalisation Ratio: 2 dollars = 1 pound