...New Zealand - 2003 Annual Polymer Collectors Set Limited Edition of 1000 Sets (Only 273 Sets Sold) S/# AA03 0000098

 New Zealand

(Aotearoa)

Reserve Bank of New Zealand (since 1934)
(Te Putea Matua)

Currency : Dollar (NZD)

 

This is a full set of New Zealand banknotes all printed with matching serial numbers. This set was issued in 2003. This is a special issue limited to 1000 sets only. 

New Zealand first introduced polymer banknotes in May 1999 and released its full set of banknotes with denominations of $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100. New Zealand, after Australia, is the second country to have fully converted all of its banknotes from cotton based paper banknotes to polymer. 

 

The main designs of this series are very similar to those last paper banknotes issued. The main designs of this series are very similar to those last paper banknotes issued. The themes for this series are the famous New Zealanders on the front and the natural scenes of New Zealand on the back. However, for the advantage of polymer banknotes, a transparent window is added to all the designs as an additional security feature. All notes are printed with AA first prefix. The serial no for this set is AA03 000098.

This is a limited edition mainly for collection, and was not meant for circulation as the issue price was NZ$270 per set against a face value of NZ$185. This is also the only way to get a full set for the year 2003, as in 2003, only the $5 was issued for general circulation. Despite being a limited edition, I do not believe it was a successful numismatic product issued as out of the 1000 sets printed, only 273 sets were sold. This is the lowest sales figure achieved for all limited editions of annual sets issued since 1999. The remaining unsold sets were later destroyed by the bank. I was told that the bank decided to cull those unsold sets as it creates an issue to the bank when it comes to conducting annual internal auditing for its inventory as all items need to be counted and verified, and in order to avoid this, the bank decided to destroy all remaining unsold sets. Isn't this sad? The bank could have pushed all remaining unsold sets to dealers at a discounted price. What a waste? This set is now worth more than NZ$1000 in the market.

 

New Zealand first commenced circulating polymer banknotes in May 1999, and had since issued collectors full set limited editions in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2015/16. All sets are issued with 5 notes with the exception of the 2000 set, which also came with the $10 millennium commemorative note. These limited editions are all limited to 1000 sets each. The 1999  polymer banknotes of New Zealand is the sixth series of banknotes since 1934. The 2015/2016 issue is the seventh series.

 

Signature

Governor - Alan Edmond Bollard (tenure - 23.09.2022 to 25.09.2012)

 

Five Dollars   

nd2003, Sir Edmund Hillary (b.1919-2008)

Front - Main feature is of Sir Edmund Hillary (b.1919-2008). He became world-famous in 1953 when he and his Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay (b.1914-1986) successfully conquered Mount Everest for the first time. To his right is Mount Cook, which is the highest mount in New Zealand. It has a height of 3724 meters and is situated in the middle of the South Island. Below Mount Cook is the image of a Massy Ferguson tractor. This tractor was used in 1955-1958 during the Trans-Antarctic expedition. It is believed that this tractor was driven by Hillary during the expedition.

 

Note: Many years ago, I read somewhere that there was a dispute over who actually reached Mount Everest first. Was it Hillary or Norgay? Some argued that it was Norgay but decided not to take the glory as the first person to reach the summit. However, according to a report that a few years after the successful expedition, it was reported that Norgay revealed that it was Hillary who actually stepped on the summit first. If you search the Internet, the achievement for climbing Mount Everest was accredited to both of them.

 

Back - The theme of the reverse is the Campbell Island scene. Campbell Island is situated in the southern part of New Zealand, and it is currently uninhabited. A Yellow Eyed penguin which can be found on Campbell Island and many other penguin species as well. The Bulbinella Rossii plant (Lilly) is also featured on the note and can be found on the island, as well as the Pleurophyllum Speciosum plant (daisy) and the Bull Kelp plant as well.

Dimensions - 135mm x 66mm

 

Yellow Eyed penguin

 

Ten Dollars

nd2003, Kate Sheppard (b.1848-1934)

Front - Kate Sheppard (b.1848-1934) was born in Liverpool England and emigrated to New Zealand in 1868. During her lifetime, she was an active member of various religious and social groups. To her right is the White Camellia flower which symbolises the fight for the vote by New Zealand women. The right to vote by women in New Zealand was granted in 1893.

 

Back - On the back, it features the River scene with a pair of Blue ducks (Whio). The Blue duck is special as it can only be founded in New Zealand. The Parahebe Catarractae (a plant, a close relative of the Hebe) and the Blechnum Fern (a common fern found throughout New Zealand) are also featured on the background of the note.

 

Dimensions - 140mm x 68mm

 

A pair of Blue duck (Whio)

 

Twenty Dollars

nd2003, Queen Elizabeth The Second

Front - The portrait of Queen Elizabeth the Second (b.1926-). This portrait was taken by Ronald Woolf in 1986 when the Queen was 60 years old. Next to her is the New Zealand Parliament buildings located in Wellington, the Capital city of New Zealand.

Back - On the back is the Alpine scene of New Zealand, mainly located on the southern island. The main feature of this note is the New Zealand falcon (Karearea). Next to it is the Marlbourough Rock daisy, and on the background is Mount Tapuaenuku (Tapuae-o-Uenuku). This mountain is 2,885 meters tall and is the highest peak in the northeast of New Zealand's South Island.

 

Dimensions - 145mm x 70mm

New Zealand falcon (Karearea)

 

Fifty Dollars

nd2003, Sir Apirana Ngata (b.1874-1950)

 

Front - Sir Apirana Ngata (b.1874-1950) was a Maori politician. During his lifetime, he served as the Minister of Native Affairs between 1928 and 1934. A Pourourangi Meeting House at Waiomatatini Marae near Ruatoria, which Sir Ngata helped to construct during his lifetime. The Meeting Houses were constructed to promote Maori culture and Maori sports.

 

Back - On the back is the Conifer Broadleaf Forest scene which can be found through New Zealand. A Blue Wattled Crow is the main feature on the back of the note. The Pureora Forest Supplejack is also featured on the background and Sky-Blue Mushrooms are also depicted to the right-side of the note.

 

Dimensions - 150mm x 72mm

A Blue Wattled Crow

 

One Hundred Dollars

nd2003, Ernest Lord Rutherford of Nelson (b.1871-1937)

Front - Ernest Lord Rutherford of Nelson (b.1871-1937), a physicist and was known to be the father of nuclear physics. In 1908, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (Nobel Prize Medallion for Chemistry and graph depicted on the left).

 

Back - The theme on the back is the Beech Forest scene. The Beech Forest covers more than 2.9 million hectares of land in New Zealand, which can be found mainly in the mountains in the North Island and in the western part of the South Island. The Yellowhead (Mohua) bird is also depicted on the note and on the background to the left is the Red Beech, Eglinton Valley in Fiordland National Park, South Island. A Lichen Moth is also featured on the bottom left corner of the note too.

 

Dimensions - 155mm x 74mm

Yellowhead (Mohua) bird

Certificate of Authenticity and Information Cover

 

Footnote: -

Below are the details of New Zealand 6th and 7th series annual Collector's sets issued from 1999 to 2016 by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. These are all polymer series of banknotes and only issued for 9 years. Whilst these are numismatic products, not all notes sold in this format were released to the public for normal circulation. The only way to get the banknote with the particular year is to get the annual collector's sets. All annual sets were limited to 1000 sets only. The first set was issued in 1999 when New Zealand fully converted all banknotes from paper to polymer substrate materials.

 

1999 - 1000 sets limited edition, only 746 sets sold at NZ$240 per set;

2000 - 1000 sets limited edition, only 817 sets sold at NZ$255 per set;

2001 - 1000 sets limited edition, only 491 sets sold at NZ$250 per set;

2002 - 1000 sets limited edition, only 291 sets sold at NZ$270 per set;

2003 - 1000 sets limited edition, only 273 sets sold at NZ$270 per set;

2004 - 1000* sets limited edition, all sold out at NZ$295 per set;

2007 - 1000* sets limited edition, all sold out at NZ$295 per set;

2008 - 1000* sets limited edition, all sold out at NZ$295 per set; and

2016 - 1000 sets limited edition 7th series, all sold out at record time at NZ$295 per set.

 

It is not sure why the sale figures for the 2002 and 2003 sets were so low. Perhaps collectors felt that these were only issued as numismatic products and would not bother to keep buying them for all other years. Or could it be that this was due to poor marketing outside the country or the lack of it. However, the distribution method changed for the sale of the 2004 annual sets and from there onward, all sets were fully sold. It is very unfortunate that all unsold sets from 1999 to 2003 were destroyed by the bank. I am pretty sure that all sets with serial numbers from single digit, right up to no. 100 are all in the collector's hand.

Note * - only 999 sets were put on sale as the Reserve Bank retained one set for their own archive purpose.