The New Zealand dollar is legal tender and the official currency of New Zealand, Niue, Tokelau, the Ross Dependency, the Cook Islands, and British territory, the Pitcairn Islands with currency code NZD and symbol NZ$, to distinguish it from other dollar currencies. In the perspective of currency trading, it is frequently called “kiwi dollar” or “kiwi” since New Zealand is associated with kiwi.
New Zealand dollar was introduced as an official national currency in 1967. It is subdivided into 100 cents. There are a total of 10 denominations, five banknotes and five coins; the lower denominations were ceased because of production costs and inflation. The New Zealand dollar is one of 10th most traded currencies in the world. It represents around 2.0% of global foreign exchange market.
Before the introduction of the dollar, the pound was legal tender and currency of New Zealand. In 1930, the idea of switching to decimal currency was proposed. In 1963, the idea fell on the fertile ground when the government decided to decimalize the New Zealand currency. In 1964, the Decimal Currency Act was passed, setting the date of transition to 10th July 1967.
Many words such as zeal, kiwi, and fern were proposed to distinguish it from other dollar-dominated currencies, but in the end, the term “dollar” was selected. On 10th July 1967, the New Zealand dollar was introduced as national currency to replace New Zealand pound. About 165 million mew coins and 27 million new banknotes were printed for the changeover.
On the introduction of the New Zealand dollar, coins were issued in denominations of 1c, 2c, 5c, 10c, 20c, and 50c. On 11th February 1991, coins of $1 and $2 were introduced to replace banknotes of $1 and $2. The first series of New Zealand dollar banknotes were introduced in 1967 in denominations of $1, $2, $5, $10, $20 and $100. A refresh whole new series of notes was introduced in 2015-16 with improved security features and design.
The New Zealand dollar contributed significantly to the global exchange market. According to the Bank for International Settlements, NZD contributes about a 2.1% share of the global foreign exchange market.
The current series of New Zealand dollar banknotes and coins generally in circulation include:
Banknotes:
Frequently used $5, $10, $20, $50, $100
Rarely used No longer in use: $1, $2
Coins:
Frequently used 10c, 20c, 50c, $1, $2
Rarely used No longer in use: 1c, 2c, 5c