Cook Islands dollar

Cook Islands dollar
$3 front
ISO 4217 code	none
User(s)	Cook Islands (New Zealand) (alongside New Zealand dollar)
Inflation	2.1%
Source	The World Factbook, 2005 est.
Pegged with	New Zealand dollar at par
Subunit
1/100	cent
Symbol	$
cent	c
Coins	5, 10, 20, 50 cents, $1, $2, $5
Banknotes	$3, $10, $20, $50

The dollar is the currency of the Cook Islands. The dollar is subdivided into 100 cents, although some 50 cent coins carry the denomination as "50 tene".

History

Until 1967, the New Zealand pound was used on the Cook Islands, when it was replaced by the New Zealand dollar. In 1972, coins were issued specifically for the Cook Islands, with banknotes appearing in 1987. The Cook Islands dollar is pegged at par to the New Zealand dollar.

Coins

In 1972, bronze 1 and 2 cents, and cupro-nickel 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents, and 1-dollar coins were introduced. All were the same size, weight, and composition as the corresponding New Zealand coins, however, the unique crown-sized dollar coin circulated much more readily than its New Zealand equal. Each coin depicted plants, animals, and items unique to the Cook Islands.

In 1983, production of the 1 and 2-cent coins was ceased and the two coins were later demonetized. In 1987, a smaller, lighter scallop-edged $1 coin with a similar size and shape to the Hong Kong $2 piece. This coin was issued to replace its bulky predecessor. Along with the new dollar, a triangular $2 coin and a dodecagonal (twelve-sided) $5 piece in equal size and shape to the Australian 50-cent coin were introduced, with the new $1 and $2 composed of cupro-nickel and the $5 coin in aluminium bronze. 2003 saw the reintroduction of a 1-cent coin, this time composed of aluminium rather than bronze and slightly smaller and thicker than the 10-cent piece. These were issued with five different reverses, each commemorating a few of the nation's historical themes.

Cook Islands has a long reputation for frequent monetary oddities. It was one of the last countries to hold on to large crown-sized coins while elsewhere, coins of such size are seldom ever minted in large enough quantities intended for circulation. In 1987, with the release of its new $2 piece, Cook Islands officially became the first modern country to issue a circulating three-sided coin, as well as one of only a handful of countries at the time with a widely circulating $5 piece. 1988 brought the redesign of the 50-cent piece, quite unique in becoming the first coin in the country to bear a denomination name. Although widely recognized as "cents" this coin depicts "tene", the native language equivalent to the English word cent. It also abandoned its 1 and 2-cent pieces almost 10 years before both New Zealand and Australia, only to bring the 1 cent back 20 years later. It also replaced $1 and $2 notes for coins two years before New Zealand did, even though the Cook Islands dollar is pegged to the NZD at par. Amidst minting $2 and $5 coins, it also issued an oddball $3 note in between the dollar coins as part of the same series.

With the reduction in size of the New Zealand 10, 20 and 50-cent coins in 2006, the Cook Island equivalents to these have for the mean time, yet to appear. Although a 2010 commemorative Cook Islands coin set in denominations 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, cent and a bimetallic $1 have been minted with a similar size to some of the newer New Zealand ones, these coins appear to be collectors issues intended to raise money for the Cook Islands government rather than a true legal tender circulating coin set and it seems very unlikely that these will actually be found anywhere on the islands.

The obverse of all coins of the Cook Islands depict Queen Elizabeth II; she is Head of State and Queen of Cook Islands and New Zealand.

The reverse of standard issue coins are as depicts:

1 CENT: (1972–83) Taro Leaf (2003) Captain James Cook, Orangutan, Collie Dog, Pointer Dog, Chicken.

2 CENTS: Two pineapples

5 CENTS: Hibiscus Blossom

10 CENTS: Orange on Branch

20 CENTS: Fairy Tern Bird

50 CENTS: (1972–87) Bonito Fish (1988–94) Sea Turtle

1 DOLLAR: Tangaroa, Male Fertility God

2 DOLLARS: Water Vessel on Wooden Table

5 DOLLARS: Conch seashell

Banknotes

In 1987, 3, 10, and 20 dollar notes were introduced by the government, followed by 50 dollar notes as part of a new series of notes in 1992. The notes all bear images of items, events, and panorama relevant to native Polynesian culture. There doesn't appear to be any mandated color or size standard for the notes as they vary between series and differ from NZ color and size standards.

The $3 notes are the most rarely used denomination, in part due to coinciding $2 & $5 coin denominations in between. These notes were issued up until 1995 when lack of popular demand for them led to their discontinuation. Cook Islanders are showing a preference for New Zealand's banknotes^{[citation needed]}, although the Cook Islands notes remain as legal tender and circulate next to New Zealand notes.

1992 Series
Value	Obverse	Reverse
$3
$10
$20
$50	[1]	[2]

See also

• Economy of the Cook Islands
• New Zealand Dollar
• Pitcairn Islands Dollar
• Niue dollar

References

• Krause, Chester L. and Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed. ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501. 
• Pick, Albert (1994). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: General Issues. Colin R. Bruce II and Neil Shafer (editors) (7th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-87341-207-9. 

External links