Banknotes of the New Zealand dollar

These first notes were intended to be temporary. They had been designed in a hurry amid heated debate over what they should look like. In the end they included features of notes already in circulation. The design included a Kiwi, the Arms of New Zealand, a sketch of Mitre Peak and a portrait of King Tāwhiao, the second Maori king.

The colours of the original banknotes were similar to the previous trading banknotes. All the notes carried the same design, but different colours distinguished the denominations. Notes of 10/- (ten shillings), £1 (one pound), £5 and £50 were coloured orange, mauve, blue-green and red respectively. The banknotes were all the same size (7" x 3½").

The first bank note was introduced on 1 August 1934, and was signed by the first Governor of the Reserve Bank, Leslie Lefeaux. They were printed by Thomas de la Rue and Company Limited, London.

The second series was issued on 6 February 1940, marking the centenary of the Treaty of Waitangi. The design and colours for the 10/- and £50 notes were changed. A portrait of Captain James Cook replaced that of King Tawhiao. A green coloured £10 note was also introduced at this time. These notes stayed in circulation until the change to decimal currency on 10 July 1967.

Decimalisation of the New Zealand currency occurred on 10 July 1967, when the New Zealand pound was replaced by the New Zealand dollar at a rate of one pound to two dollars (10 shillings to a dollar). On the same day, new decimal banknotes were introduced to replace the existing pound banknotes, in denominations of $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, and $100.

These first decimal banknotes all featured a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen of New Zealand, on the obverse. The reverse featured a native New Zealand bird and a native New Zealand plant. The colour scheme on all but the $5 note (which was an entirely new denomination, worth £2 10s) remained the same on equivalent pound and dollar notes to ease the transition (e.g. £10 and $20 were both green).

The second issue of New Zealand dollar banknotes occurred around 1978 - 1980, but officially done at 1981, when the Reserve Bank changed the printer from De La Rue to Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. The new notes had a different design from the first decimal currency issue. The portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was updated, and she now faced forward, rather than to the left. It was based upon a photograph by Peter Grugeon, with the Queen wearing Grand Duchess Vladimir's tiara and Queen Victoria's golden jubilee necklace.[1]

The $50 note was introduced in 1983 to fill the long gap between the $20 and the $100 notes. $1 and $2 notes were discontinued in 1991 and replaced by gold-coloured coins. Requests for a donation (koha) e.g. for admission often now say gold coin please.

A commemorative $10 note was introduced in 1990 to commemorate 150 Years of the Treaty of Waitangi.

In 1991, the existing $1 and $2 notes were withdrawn in spite of complaints ($1 and $2 coins had been introduced in the previous year) and all the other banknotes were redesigned. The new series featured notable New Zealanders on the obverse, with the exception of the $20 note, which still featured the Queen, while the reverse sides were redesigned to incorporate a natural New Zealand scene, with a native New Zealand bird in the foreground. The Queen replaced Captain Cook as the image for the watermark.

A notable feature of the new series was the inclusion of the portrait of Sir Edmund Hillary on the obverse of the $5 note. Hillary was one of the few living non-heads of state to ever feature on a banknote in the world, and this remained true until his death on 11 January 2008.

The banknote redesign was supposedly needed because when the Reserve Bank governor Don Brash told the existing printer that the bank proposed to put the printing of banknotes (its largest cost) out to tender, the firm said that they owned the copyright on the plates. "Apparently, when we went to decimal currency in 1967, somebody in the Treasury or the Reserve Bank had signed away the copyright of the New Zealand banknotes to a company in Whangarei, in perpetuity". So the only way out of a hopeless bargaining position was to redesign the banknotes. The Whangarei firm was a subsidiary of a British company, and after going out to tender the same Whangarei company won, but this time the price per note was substantially less.[2]

In 1999, New Zealand changed from paper banknotes to polymer banknotes. The change increased the life of the banknotes fourfold, and also allowed new and improved security features to prevent counterfeiting. The overall design of the notes remained unchanged albeit for slight modifications for the new security features.

Around 1999 - 2000, a commemorative $10 note was issued for the new millennium.

In July 2011, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced a new issue of banknotes will be released for circulation from 2015. The new issue will use the same basic designs as the fifth and sixth note issues, but the overall look will be refreshed and the security features will be upgraded.[3][4]

The new banknote designs were finally revealed in a ceremony on 20 November 2014.

The new type $5 and $10 notes were released in October 2015, and the $20, $50, and $100 notes were released in May 2016.[5]