New Zealand dollar

The New Zealand dollar (ISO 4217: NZD, sometimes NZ$ and often informally known as the Kiwi (dollar)) is the official currency of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, and the Pitcairn Islands. It was introduced in 1967 to replace the New Zealand pound, when the country decimalised its currency.

Denominations

Currency is available as both notes and coins.

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Notes

New Zealand notes

One and two dollar notes were phased out in 1991 with the introduction of the one and two dollar coins.

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Millennium $10 note

A special millennium version of the $10 note was issued in 2000. It had security features never used before, and like other New Zealand banknotes, it was made of polymer.

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Cook Islands Banknotes

Work in progress.

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From 1987 to 1995, the Cook Islands have been issuing their own banknotes in denominations of $3, $10, and $20. There were two design sets, one issued from 1987 to 1991, and one issued from 1992 to 1995. Cook Islanders are showing a preference for New Zealand banknotes, but the Cook Islands notes remain legal tender. You can find pictures of the 1992 issue here.

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It should also be noted that the Cook Islands have been minting their own coins.

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Coins

The obverse (front) design of all the coins feature the standard effigy used in the United Kingdom of HM The Queen with the legend ELIZABETH II NEW ZEALAND , or since 1999, NEW ZEALAND ELIZABETH II . Only some state decorations and orders in New Zealand use the abbreviated Latin inscription ELIZABETH II D. G. REG. F. D. (Dei Gratia Regina Fidei Defensor), which means 'Elizabeth the Second, By the Grace of God, Queen, Defender of the Faith'.

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The sizes and weights of the "silver" coins are identical to the specifications of British coins prior to the UK's decimalisation. The 50c coin replaced the crown, the 20c the florin, the 10c the shilling and the 5c the sixpence. This same conversion was used in Australian coinage.

Related Topics:
British coins - Crown - Florin - Shilling - Sixpence - Australian coinage

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Due to the fact that many countries around the world use a British-derived coinage system, many Australian, Fijian and Singaporean coins are in daily circulation in New Zealand (although not being official legal tender). In the case of Australian coins the obverse side is almost the same as New Zealand coins, and a large number of 5, 10, and 20 cent Australian coins are used in New Zealand in an identical manner to their true counterparts. It is of note that the United Kingdom itself has been phasing out these sizes of coins, and there has been the odd case of a British 5p or 10p appearing in a customer's change.

Related Topics:
Australia - Fiji - Singapore

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Shown below are the reverse designs.

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