I have waited for more than 30+ years and now decided to see if I can complete this set. Unfortunately, I am still short of two notes.
Here, I have posted 8 out of the 10 notes for the 1990 $10 commemorative notes celebrating the 150th year of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (1840-1990). These notes were first released for circulation on 14.08.1992. This is the first time that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has issued a legal tender banknote commemorating a historical event in the country.
Back in the early 90s, this note was marketed in Australia by the Royal Australian Mint, and I recall, the 2-in-One Uncut sheets were made available but I cannot remember if other uncut sheets were offered too. I am pretty sure that only the uncut sheets were offered and not the single notes. As if not, I would have bought them too. I then purchased the 2-in-One uncut sheet only, as it was selling quite expensive back in the 90s. Since then, I made no attempt to get the rest of the series (single notes and all other prefixes) until now. Despite the hefty price I have paid for these single notes, it does give me some satisfaction that I now have 8 notes in my collection. To buy them separately could cost me even more and it may also be a challenge to find them available for sale in the market too. As you can see, I am still missing the two notes printed with the prefixes of CCC and DDD.
The Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi) was first signed on 06.02.1840 by Captain William Hobson (1795-1842), who represented the British Crown and then by Northern Maori chiefs at Waitangi. The treaty was written in both English and Maori. The Waitangi Treaty is a foundational agreement in New Zealand which established a partnership between the British Crown and Maori chiefs. It is considered as a constitutional document that guides the relationship between the Crown (the British) and Maori. After the initial signing, the document was then traveled all over New Zealand in the next few months to have it signed by all other chiefs in New Zealand. In all, approximately 540 Maori chiefs signed the treaty, including 13 women. Most of them signed on the Maori version of the treaty, with 39 signed on the English version. As per the name of the treaty, Waitangi is located in the northern part and on the right side of North Island and is about 230 km north of Auckland. Waitangi is not a name of a town or city but rather a locality/settlement and is located in the Bay of Islands. The closest town to Waitangi is Paihia, which is connected by a bridge near the mouth of the Waitangi River estuary. Paihia is a very small coastal town with a population of less than 2000 people.
New Zealand was first visited by the Dutch in 1942. In 1769, Captain James Cook arrived on his first of his three voyages. Since then, New Zealand has been visited by explorers, sailors, missionaries and traders. The Treaty of Waitangi dated 06.02.1840 is considered the official date of colonisation of New Zealand by the British. The treaty was intended to create unity between the British and Maori, but different understandings of the two versions and breaches have led to ongoing controversies and disagreements until today. According to the Maori, the treaty grants the Crown/British governance over the land while acknowledging Maori authority, while the English version gives the Crown/British full sovereignty.
A total of 1.0m pieces were printed for this series with 10 prefixes* issued. Each prefix was printed with 100,000 pieces each with the exception of AAA and BBB prefixes. For the AAA prefix, only 96,000 printed but none were originally issued in single notes. For the BBB prefix, a total of 104,000 issued with 19,450 released in a cardboard sleeve as numismatic products and sold for NZ$17.85 per set. In addition to Prefix BBB, Prefix CCC notes were also sold in a cardboard sleeve as well and it was reported that only 500 sets (CCC 000001-CCC 000500) were made available. As the AAA prefix notes were initially sold as uncut sheets, and later those unsold sheets were returned to RBNZ, and then the bank cut these unsold sheets into individual notes and released them back into circulation. If you have got one in single, it could be possible that it came from the uncut sheet not cut by the bank. I have seen a few of these AAA prefix notes offered by dealers here and most of them are just badly cut and you can tell that it was not officially cut by the RBNZ. As for the uncut sheets, so far, I have sighted the sheets of 32, 16, 4 and 2.
Below are the list of prefixes printed for this series:-
In addition to the above, 10 pieces were printed with the prefix of NZ* but used as specimen notes only. It was also reported that no replacement prefixes were printed for this series. Whilst we can confirm that the first prefix for this serial is AAA, would you say the last prefix is TNZ, or there is no last prefix as every one printed is just as unique as the others.
Based on the quantity of 1.0m pieces printed, and in my opinion, this is not a large quantity issue especially for the denomination of $10, which is usually a popular denomination circulating in an economy, just like those notes of $1, $2, $5 and perhaps $20 as well. Back in the early 1990s, New Zealand had a population of about 3.30m people and for that and with a quantity of 1.0m is not considered a large issue.
I have waited for more than 30+ years and now decided to see if I can complete this set.
Here, I have posted 8 notes for the 1990 $10 commemorative notes celebrating the 150th year of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (1840-1990). These notes were first released for circulation on 14.08.1992. This is the first time that the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has issued a legal tender banknote commemorating a historical event in the country.
Back in the early 90s, this note was marketed in Australia by the Royal Australian Mint, and I recall, the 2-in-One Uncut sheets were made available but I cannot remember if other uncut sheets were offered too. I am pretty sure that only the uncut sheets were offered and not the single notes. As if not, I would have bought them too. I then purchased the 2-in-One uncut sheet only, as it was selling quite expensive back in the 90s. Since then, I made no attempt to get the rest of the series (single notes and all other prefixes) until now. Despite the hefty price I have paid for these single notes, it does give me some satisfaction that I now have 8 notes in my collection. To buy them separately could cost me even more and it may also be a challenge to find them available for sale in the market too. As you can see, I am still missing the two notes printed with the prefixes of CCC and DDD.
The Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi) was first signed on 06.02.1840 by Captain William Hobson (1795-1842), who represented the British Crown and then by Northern Maori chiefs at Waitangi. The treaty was written in both English and Maori. The Waitangi Treaty is a foundational agreement in New Zealand which established a partnership between the British Crown and Maori chiefs. It is considered as a constitutional document that guides the relationship between the Crown (the British) and Maori. After the initial signing, the document was then traveled all over New Zealand in the next few months to have it signed by all other chiefs in New Zealand. In all, approximately 540 Maori chiefs signed the treaty, including 13 women. Most of them signed on the Maori version of the treaty, with 39 signed on the English version. As per the name of the treaty, Waitangi is located in the northern part and on the right side of North Island and is about 230 km north of Auckland. Waitangi is not a name of a town or city but rather a locality/settlement and is located in the Bay of Islands. The closest town to Waitangi is Paihia, which is connected by a bridge near the mouth of the Waitangi River estuary. Paihia is a very small coastal town with a population of less than 2000 people.
New Zealand was first visited by the Dutch in 1942. In 1769, Captain James Cook arrived on his first of his three voyages. Since then, New Zealand has been visited by explorers, sailors, missionaries and traders. The Treaty of Waitangi dated 06.02.1840 is considered the official date of colonisation of New Zealand by the British. The treaty was intended to create unity between the British and Maori, but different understandings of the two versions and breaches have led to ongoing controversies and disagreements until today. According to the Maori, the treaty grants the Crown/British governance over the land while acknowledging Maori authority, while the English version gives the Crown/British full sovereignty.
A total of 1.0m pieces were printed for this series with 10 prefixes* issued. Each prefix was printed with 100,000 pieces each with the exception of AAA and BBB prefixes. For the AAA prefix, only 96,000 printed but none were originally issued in single notes. For the BBB prefix, a total of 104,000 issued with 19,450 released in a cardboard sleeve as numismatic products and sold for NZ$17.85 per set. In addition to Prefix BBB, Prefix CCC notes were also sold in a cardboard sleeve as well and it was reported that only 500 sets (CCC 000001-CCC 000500) were made available. As the AAA prefix notes were initially sold as uncut sheets, and later those unsold sheets were returned to RBNZ, and then the bank cut these unsold sheets into individual notes and released them back into circulation. If you have got one in single, it could be possible that it came from the uncut sheet not cut by the bank. I have seen a few of these AAA prefix notes offered by dealers here and most of them are just badly cut and you can tell that it was not officially cut by the RBNZ. As for the uncut sheets, so far, I have sighted the sheets of 32, 16, 4 and 2.
Below are the list of all prefixes printed for this series:-
In addition to the above, 10 pieces were printed with the prefix of NZ* but used as specimen notes only. It was also reported that no replacement prefixes were printed for this series. Whilst we can confirm that the first prefix for this serial is AAA, would you say the last prefix is TNZ, or there is no last prefix as every one printed is just as unique as the others.
Based on the quantity of 1.0m pieces printed, and in my opinion, this is not a large quantity issue especially for the denomination of $10, which is usually a popular denomination circulating in an economy, just like those notes of $1, $2, $5 and perhaps $20 as well. Back in the early 1990s, New Zealand had a population of about 3.30m people and for that and with a quantity of 1.0m is not considered a large issue.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand also put together the first 1000 sets all with matching serial numbers (#000001 - 001000) for sale to collectors. Report stated that 7 notes with prefixes DDD, CWB, FTC, MBL, RNZ, RXX and TNZ with matching serial numbers were sold as numismatic products. The notes with prefixes of AAA, BBB and CCC were not included. However, I have only six notes with matching serial numbers. These 1000 sets were first released to collectors in July 1990. I wonder if the RBNZ managed to sell all these 1000 sets issued and if not, were there any unsold sets redistributed back as single notes for circulation. The bank, I believe, has a habit of either redistributing unsold numismatic products or destroying them completely to save storage space. Whilst I am not entirely clear as to why the bank printed these unusual six prefixes that each represented a business entity in New Zealand, however, it was believed (according to a dealer) that these companies were involved in the sponsoring for this commemorative $10 series which would allow them to promote their businesses/brands in the country with their business acronym printed on the note as letter prefixes. In terms of how successful these promoting exercises were may not be known unless they have conducted research on this after the release of the notes back then. I honestly doubt anyone would have noticed this unless you are a collector or the employees of these companies involved, as normal people would have care less. Apology for my negative comment as the truth always hurts!😁.
Ten Dollars AAA Two-in-One Uncut Sheet
 |
| 155.5mm x 157mm |
Front - The Portrait of Queen Elizabeth the Second (1926-2022). This portrait was taken in 1977 by Peter Grugeon, The Queen was 51 years old when this portrait was taken. The design of this note on the front is very similar to the $10 circulating at that time, albeit the colour looks a bit lighter blue and the commemorative logo is added next to the Queen's portrait.
Back - The design on the back is completely new and it depicts an image of the signing of the treaty by one of the Maori chiefs in front of the British Officer. The design came from a bas-relief by a British born sculptor, Alfred Drury. This design was previously printed on New Zealand 10 shilling notes. From the design, I personally feel that this treaty signing was a bit intimidating to the Maoris. I do not know who that sitting British officer was, but one can only assume that would be Captain William Hobson. Whilst he was sitting with both his hands resting on the hilt of a British Army Officer ceremonial sword, the Maori chief was not and had to stand and bend over to sign the document. This is clearly showing (to me imo) that this was done with intimidation against the Maori. On the right of the note, the following commemorative text printed with upper case are added: -
Selling price A$33.50 by RAM
BBB Prefix in Folder
Prefix BBB - NZ$17.85 Cardboard sleeve. The note is sealed in the sleeve and cannot be safely removed without damaging the sleeve. 19,450 folders issued but not sure if all were sold out or any unsold folders returned to the central bank. There is no shortage in supply for this note with this prefix. It is just the matter of what price you are willing to pay for. This BBB prefix folder note, together with the 2-in-one uncut sheet are the most common notes that you can find for sale for this commemorative series.
CCC Prefix
(Missing)
This note is also sold in a cardboard sleeve just like the Prefix BBB note. However, I have no details as to how many were made available then.
DDD Prefix
(Missing)
CWB Prefix
Countrywide Banking Corporation Limited
 |
| 156mm x 79mm |
Countrywide Banking Corporation Limited was a retail bank operating throughout New Zealand until 1998 when the company was acquired by the National Bank of New Zealand. The bank was created from Country Building Society, which itself emerged from the original Auckland Co-operative Terminating Building Society established in March 1897. In 2003, the Australia & New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) purchased the National Bank of New Zealand, and in 2014 retired the brand in favour of the ANZ brand.
FTC Prefix
Farmers Trading Company Ltd
 |
| 156.5mm x 78.5mm |
Farmers Trading Company Ltd is a New Zealand mid-market department store chain with its headquarter based in Auckland. The company operates 59 stores across the country specialising in family fashion, beauty, homewares, furniture, large appliances and whiteware/white goods. The company was founded by Robert Laidlaw in 1909, initially selling agricultural supplies through mail order catalogues.
MBL Prefix
Mobil Oil Corporation
 |
| 157mm x 78.5mm |
Mobil Oil Corporation, the brand name speaks for itself. Mobil New Zealand is the oldest oil company, with it's roots tracing back to 1896 when Vacuum Oil of New York established its operation in Wellington. Since then, they have been operating in New Zealand in various forms, and a major player in the New Zealand fuel market for over a century.
RNZ Prefix
Radio New Zealand
 |
| 156mm x 78.5mm |
Radio New Zealand was the first radio broadcast in New Zealand on 17.11.1921 by Professor Robert Jack. Since then public radio broadcasting can be traced through several key periods - The Radio Broadcasting Company (1925-1931); the New Zealand Broadcasting Board (1931-1936); the National Broadcasting Services (1936-1962); and the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (1962-1975). RNZ is a Crown owned entity and is governed by the Radio New Zealand Act 1995.
RXX Prefix
Rank Xerox
 |
| 156.5mm x 78mm |
Rank Xerox was formed in 1956 by the partnership between Rank Organisation and Xerox Corporation. The company was established to manufacture and distribute plain paper photocopying equipment. The company then entered into a joint venture with Fuji Photo film, known as Fuji Xerox. In 1990, Rank Xerox's operation was taken over by Fuji Xerox, later changing its name to Fujifilm Business Innovation in 2021.
TNZ Prefix
Television New Zealand
 |
| 156mm x 78.5mm |
Television New Zealand (TVNZ) is a New Zealand state-owned media company and Crown entity. TVNZ was established in 1980 following the merger of Television One and South Pacific Television. TVNZ was the sole television broadcaster in the country until the private channel TV3 was launched in 1989.
Footnote: The above comments posted may not be correct or accurate and have not been verified by any relevant authorities. The comments on the Treaty of Waitangi mentioned are solely mine and are based on my own opinion and understanding. I only come up with my conclusion based solely on my brief understanding of the British's history during the so-called period of - "Britannia Ruled The Waves". It is okay to disagree with what I have written here, and if you do, most likely you are correct and I am not. 😁
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