New Zealand dollar Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
The New Zealand dollar (ISO 4217: NZD, sometimes NZ$ and often informally known as the Kiwi dollar) is the official currency of New Zealand and the Cook Islands. It was introduced in 1967 to replace the New Zealand pound, when the country decimalised its currency.The Pitcairn Islands also use the New Zealand Dollar.
The NZD, like the US Dollar, is made up of 100 cents.
Denominations
Currency is available as both notes and coins.
| Value | Obverse | Reverse
|
|---|---|---|
| 100 Dollars | Features Lord Rutherford of Nelson, a New Zealand-born scientist who performed much early work in the investigation of the atom. | Features the mohua, a bird found in certain areas of the South Island.
|
| 50 Dollars | Features Sir Apirana Ngata, a prominent Maori politician who worked to protect and rejuvenate Maori culture. | Features a type of kokako, a rare New Zealand bird.
|
| 20 Dollars | Features Queen Elizabeth II, the current monarch of New Zealand and other Commonwealth Realms. | Features the Karearea, sometimes called the New Zealand Falcon.
|
| 10 Dollars | Features Kate Sheppard, the most important figure in the New Zealand women's suffrage movement. | Features the Whio (also known as the Blue Duck), a rare bird from the country's mountainous areas.
|
| 5 Dollars | Features Sir Edmund Hillary, New Zealand mountaineer who with Tenzing Norgay became the first to climb Mount Everest. | Features the hoiho, or Yellow-eyed Penguin, one of the world's rarest penguin species.
|
One and two dollar notes were phased out in 1991 with the introduction of the one and two dollar coins.
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 [date]. Only some state decorations and orders in New Zealand use the abbreviated Latin inscription ELIZABETH II D. G. REG. F. D..
The sizes of the "silver" coins follow the pre-decimalisation sizes of British coins. The 50c coin replaced the crown, the 20c the florin, the 10c the shilling and the 5c the sixpenny. This same conversion was used in Australian coinage.
Shown below are the reverse designs.
| (white heron), a bird important to Maori mythology, in flight. (Introduced 1991)]] | , New Zealand's national bird. (Introduced 1991)]] | , the vessel of early explorer James Cook. (Introduced 1967)]] |
| iwi. Coins minted before 1991 feature the Kiwi (see above). (Introduced 1967)]] | , a rare reptile native to New Zealand. (Introduced 1967)]] |
Coins and Notes
Lack of 1 and 2 cent coins
Prior to 30 April, 1990, one and two cent coins were also legal tender, but were withdrawn amid some controversy. However, modern non-cash transactions (such as electronic transactions and chequess) need not be multiples of five cents, and New Zealanders rapidly adapted to the change.
The lack of one and two cent coins means that cash transactions are rounded to the (normally) nearest five cents. Some larger retailers (notably, one supermarket chain), in the interests of public relations, elected to always round down (so that $4.99 becomes $4.95 instead of $5.00). Alternatively many retailers rounded their prices to five cents to avoid the issue entirely - so a New Zealand shopper often encounters products for sale at prices like $4.95; and virtually all retailers accept electronic transactions though the EFTPOS system.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced in September 2004 that they are considering doing away with the 5 cents coin by 2006.
Plastic banknotes
New Zealand notes, since 1999, have been printed on a plastic polymer instead of conventional paper. There was a slight controversy, but this move was mostly met with curiosity by the public. Such polymer notes have many advantages, notably a photocopy can effortlessly be distinguished from the real thing by touch, and many Kiwiss have been thankful they go though a washing machine with no ill effects. Initial versions of the polymer 5 dollar note had issues with the ink wearing and aging prematurely, however, this was rectified in later production runs. (Note that the picture below is out of date, and is of the previous paper issue.)
Value
The value of the New Zealand dollar has been floating, i.e., determined by the financial markets, since March 4, 1985. Since then its value has been in the range of about 0.40 - 0.72 United States dollars, with a particularly low valuation during 2001. From July 9, 1973 until the float its value had been determined from a trade-weighted basket of currencies. Between December 23, 1971 and July 9, 1973 its value was linked to the United States dollar. Before December 23, 1971 it was linked to British sterling.
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