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The New Zealand five-dollar note is a New Zealand banknote. It is issued by the
Reserve Bank of New Zealand The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ, mi, Te Pūtea Matua) is the central bank of New Zealand. It was established in 1934 and is constituted under the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989. The governor of the Reserve Bank is responsible for N ...
and since 1999 has been a
polymer banknote Polymer banknotes are banknotes made from a synthetic polymer such as biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP). Such notes incorporate many security features not available in paper banknotes, including the use of metameric inks. Polymer banknote ...
. It was first issued on 10 July 1967 when New Zealand decimalised its currency, changing from the New Zealand pound to the
New Zealand dollar The New Zealand dollar ( mi, tāra o Aotearoa; currency sign, sign: $, NZ$; ISO 4217, code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcair ...
. The note originally had an image of Queen Elizabeth II on the front; since 1992 it has had an image of Sir
Edmund Hillary Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineering, mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropy, philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa people, Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became th ...
. The new design released in October 2015 was named "Banknote of the Year" by the International Bank Note Society for 2015.


Design

There have been seven different series of New Zealand banknotes, and the five-dollar note was introduced with the third series of banknote.


Third series (1967–1982)

The first five-dollar notes were issued alongside the first one-dollar, two-dollar, ten-dollar, twenty-dollar, and one-hundred-dollar notes with the introduction of the New Zealand dollar on 10 July 1967. They were made of cotton-based paper. The design was selected by a six-person design committee appointed in 1964, which included Alexander McLintock, Stewart Bell Maclennan and Professor John Simpson, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the
University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was f ...
. All the notes of this series had Queen Elizabeth II on the front, and a watermark of Captain
James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...
. They also had a New Zealand bird and the plant most closely associated with that species on the back. The five-dollar note featured a tui perched on a kowhai tree.


Fourth series (1982–1991)

In late 1981 the Reserve Bank switched to a different printer which meant that new printing plates had to be made. The only changes with this series were minor drawing changes and an update to the portrait of Elizabeth II.


Fifth series (1992–1999)

New Zealand's banknotes were completely re-designed in the 1990s to introduce uniquely New Zealand designs. The $1 and $2 notes were removed from circulation, and replaced with coins. The explorer Sir
Edmund Hillary Sir Edmund Percival Hillary (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineering, mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropy, philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa people, Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became th ...
was depicted on the front of the five-dollar note, with
Aoraki / Mount Cook Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. Its height, as of 2014, is listed as . It sits in the Southern Alps, the mountain range that runs the length of the South Island. A popular tourist destination, it is also a favourite ...
, the tallest mountain in New Zealand at , shown on the left hand side. Hillary was one of the first two individuals known to have reached the summit of
Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...
, and the first to have been to the
South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...
, the
North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Magn ...
and the summit of Everest. One of the Ferguson tractors driven by Hillary to the pole could be seen in the lower left corner, next to the transparent window. Hillary is the only living person, other than monarchs, to appear on a New Zealand banknote during his lifetime. The back of the note featured a scene from Campbell Island which is south of
Stewart Island / Rakiura Stewart Island ( mi, Rakiura, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land ...
. The penguin shown on the note is the hoiho (yellow-eyed penguin), which is native to New Zealand. Bulbinella rossii, commonly known as the Ross lily, with yellow flower heads, was also featured. The Queen featured on a watermark. The design also featured a
tukutuku Tukutuku panelling is a distinctive art form of the Māori people of New Zealand, a traditional latticework used to decorate meeting houses (wharenui). Other names are tuitui and arapaki. Tukutuku flank the posts around the edge of the wharenui ...
pattern known as kaokao that is found at the Tane-Nui-A-Rangi meeting house at Waipapa Marae at the
University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn ...
.


Sixth series (1999–2015)

In 1999, New Zealand changed from paper banknotes to
polymer banknotes Polymer banknotes are banknotes made from a synthetic polymer such as biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP). Such notes incorporate many security features not available in paper banknotes, including the use of metameric inks. Polymer banknote ...
. The change increased the life of the banknotes and also allowed new and improved security features to prevent
counterfeiting To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...
. The overall design of the notes remained unchanged albeit for slight modifications for the new security features.


Seventh series (2015–present)

New five-dollar and ten-dollar banknotes were released in October 2015 as part of the Series 7 banknote release (described by the Reserve Bank as the "Brighter Money" series). The remaining three banknote denominations ($20, $50, $100) in Series 7 were released in May 2016. The new series was introduced in order to add more security features to New Zealand banknotes. As surveys showed that the New Zealand public were generally content with the note design, very few design changes were made, and the design remains substantially the same as the Series 5 design. The note was brighter in colour and featured the Māori translation of Reserve Bank (Te Putea Matua), and "New Zealand, Aotearoa" on the back. One notable change in relation to the five-dollar note design was that Hillary's tractor was removed, in order to allow room for security features. The note was named "Banknote of the Year" by the International Bank Note Society for 2015. Of the nearly 150 new banknotes released that year, nearly 40 were eligible for the award. The society said: "Printed by the Canadian Bank Note Company in Ottawa, each stunning orange and brown $5 note displays a map of New Zealand in a gorgeous polymer window as well as numerous upgraded security features." Geoff Bascand, the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank, said the award was "testament to the hard work and innovation by the Bank and its partners that has gone into developing the note."


Security features

New Zealand's banknotes incorporate many security features to prevent
counterfeiting To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...
. The newer polymer banknotes have a distinctive plastic feel and should not tear easily. Security features on the Series 7 five-dollar note include a large transparent window containing intricate details, such as the denomination of the note and a detailed border with ferns and
koru The ''koru'' () is a spiral shape based on the appearance of a new unfurling silver fern frond. It is an integral symbol in Māori art, carving and tattooing, where it symbolises new life, growth, strength and peace. Its shape "conveys the id ...
patterns. When held up to the light, small puzzle pieces on the front and back of the note form a complete number 5 (the denomination of the note). The front and back of the banknote have raised ink that can be felt. On the front of the banknote, the large number 5, the portrait and the words "Reserve Bank of New Zealand Te Pūtea Matua" are raised; on the back, the large number 5, the featured bird and the words "New Zealand" and "Aotearoa" are raised. The Series 6 security features include that, when the note is shown to the light, a shadow image of
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
is displayed. There is intaglio printing through the note which gives it an embossed feel. Under
UV light Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30  PHz) to 400 nm (750  THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiatio ...
a fluorescent patch will appear showing "5", the denomination of the note. The note has a see-through window in the shape of fern on the left and an oval-shaped window on the right. There is an image of a fern located above the see-through window, and the two sides should match perfectly when held up to the light.


References

{{Economy of New Zealand Banknotes of New Zealand Five-base-unit banknotes Edmund Hillary