...New Zealand - 2015 Brighter Monies Series

Five Dollars

ND2015

Reverse

Ten Dollars

ND2015

Reverse

 

These are the first of the two "Brighter Monies" series that issued recently, replacing those first polymer notes issued since 1999. Whilst the design are not the same, the main features still are i.e. Sir Edmund Hillary, Mt Everest and yellow-eyed penguin for the $5 and Kate Sheppard and blue ducks for the $10. Additional Maori words are also added to the notes with "Te Putea Matua" on the front and "Aotearoa" on the back. I believe the words Te Putea Matua mean Reserve Bank. The word Aotearoa was originally used by the Maori when referring to the North Island of New Zealand. However this word is now commonly used when referring to New Zealand as a whole nation in Maori language. This is not the first time that the RBNZ used Maori words on it's banknotes. Previous issues also have Maori words imprinted on the notes, such as "Hoiho" ($5 yellow-eyed penguin) and "Whio" ($10 blue ducks). As you can see from the scans, the transparent window for these notes are also larger than previous issues, and it also contains more features rather than just the denomination value. These are the only two notes released in 2015. Come next year, the RBNZ will release the remainder of the Brighter Monies series with the denominations of $20, $50 and $100. I understand that the new series of notes are not printed by NPA. You can tell that by just looking at the font and size of the serial numbers printed. I believe these are Canadian prints.