1.
English language
–
English /ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ/ is a West Germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval England and is now the global lingua franca. Named after the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes that migrated to England, English is either the official language or one of the official languages in almost 60 sovereign states. It is the third most common language in the world, after Mandarin. It is the most widely learned second language and a language of the United Nations, of the European Union. It is the most widely spoken Germanic language, accounting for at least 70% of speakers of this Indo-European branch, English has developed over the course of more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the century, are called Old English. Middle English began in the late 11th century with the Norman conquest of England, Early Modern English began in the late 15th century with the introduction of the printing press to London and the King James Bible, and the start of the Great Vowel Shift. Through the worldwide influence of the British Empire, modern English spread around the world from the 17th to mid-20th centuries, English is an Indo-European language, and belongs to the West Germanic group of the Germanic languages. Most closely related to English are the Frisian languages, and English, Old Saxon and its descendent Low German languages are also closely related, and sometimes Low German, English, and Frisian are grouped together as the Ingvaeonic or North Sea Germanic languages. Modern English descends from Middle English, which in turn descends from Old English, particular dialects of Old and Middle English also developed into a number of other English languages, including Scots and the extinct Fingallian and Forth and Bargy dialects of Ireland. English is classified as a Germanic language because it shares new language features with other Germanic languages such as Dutch, German and these shared innovations show that the languages have descended from a single common ancestor, which linguists call Proto-Germanic. Through Grimms law, the word for foot begins with /f/ in Germanic languages, English is classified as an Anglo-Frisian language because Frisian and English share other features, such as the palatalisation of consonants that were velar consonants in Proto-Germanic. The earliest form of English is called Old English or Anglo-Saxon, in the fifth century, the Anglo-Saxons settled Britain and the Romans withdrew from Britain. England and English are named after the Angles, Old English was divided into four dialects, the Anglian dialects, Mercian and Northumbrian, and the Saxon dialects, Kentish and West Saxon. Through the educational reforms of King Alfred in the century and the influence of the kingdom of Wessex. The epic poem Beowulf is written in West Saxon, and the earliest English poem, Modern English developed mainly from Mercian, but the Scots language developed from Northumbrian. A few short inscriptions from the period of Old English were written using a runic script. By the sixth century, a Latin alphabet was adopted, written with half-uncial letterforms and it included the runic letters wynn ⟨ƿ⟩ and thorn ⟨þ⟩, and the modified Latin letters eth ⟨ð⟩, and ash ⟨æ⟩
English language
–
The opening to the Old English epic poem
Beowulf,
handwritten in
half-uncial script: Hƿæt ƿē Gārde/na ingēar dagum þēod cyninga / þrym ge frunon... "Listen! We of the Spear-Danes from days of yore have heard of the glory of the folk-kings..."
English language
–
Countries of the world where English is a majority native language
English language
–
Title page of Geoffrey Chaucer's
Canterbury Tales c.1400
2.
Obverse and reverse
–
In this usage, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse means the back face. The obverse of a coin is commonly called heads, because it depicts the head of a prominent person. In fields of scholarship outside numismatics, the front is more commonly used than obverse. For prints and drawings with material on both sides the one judged as more significant will be the recto, a convention now exists typically to display the obverse to the left and the reverse to the right in photographs and museum displays, but this is not invariably observed. Following this principle, in the most famous of ancient Greek coins, the tetradrachm of Athens, the obverse is the head of Athena, similar versions of these two images, both symbols of the state, were used on the Athenian coins for more than two centuries. The opposite side may have varied from time to time and this change happened in the coinage of Alexander the Great, which continued to be minted long after his death. The various Hellenistic rulers who were his successors followed his tradition and this script alone style then was used on nearly all Islamic coinage until the modern period. The type of Justinian II was revived after the end of Iconoclasm, without images, therefore, it is not always easy to tell which side will be regarded as the obverse without some knowledge. After 695, Islamic coins avoided all images of persons and usually, the side expressing the Six Kalimas is usually defined as the obverse. The form of currency follows its function, which is to serve as an accepted medium of exchange of value. Traditionally, most states have been monarchies where the person of the monarch, if not provided for on the obverse, the reverse side usually contains information relating to a coins role as medium of exchange. Additional space typically reflects the countrys culture or government, or evokes some aspect of the states territory. Regarding the euro, some regarding the obverse and reverse of the euro coins exists. This rule does not apply to the coins as they dont have a common side. A number of the used for obverse national sides of euro coins were taken from the reverse of the old pre-euro coins of some individual countries. Several countries continue to use portraits of the monarch and the Republic of Ireland continues to use the State Arms. The Chrysanthemum Crest was no longer used after the war, and so, the side on which the date continues to be regarded as the reverse. Following ancient tradition, the obverse of coins of the United Kingdom almost always feature the head of the monarch
Obverse and reverse
–
Roman imperial coin with the head of Tranquillina on the obverse, struck c. 241 when her marriage to Gordian III is depicted on the reverse in smaller scale; the coin exhibits the obverse "head" or front and reverse "tail" or back convention that still dominates much coinage today
Obverse and reverse
–
Roman imperial coin of Marcus Claudius Tacitus, who ruled briefly from 275-276, follows the convention of obverse and reverse coin traditions
Obverse and reverse
–
Obverse of the tetradrachm of
Alexander the Great, intended to be seen as a deity, wearing the attributes of the hero,
Heracles - 325 BC
Obverse and reverse
–
Solidus of
Justinian II after 705, Christ (left) is on the obverse, the emperor on the reverse
3.
ISO 4217
–
The ISO4217 code list is used in banking and business globally. ISO4217 codes are used on tickets and international train tickets to remove any ambiguity about the price. The first two letters of the code are the two letters of the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes and the third is usually the initial of the currency itself, so Japans currency code is JPY—JP for Japan and Y for yen. This eliminates the problem caused by the dollar, franc, peso and pound being used in dozens of different countries. Also, if a currency is revalued, the currency codes last letter is changed to distinguish it from the old currency. Other changes can be seen, however, the Russian ruble, for example, changed from RUR to RUB and these currency units are denominated as one troy ounce of the specified metal as opposed to USD1 or EUR1. The code XTS is reserved for use in testing, the code XXX is used to denote a transaction involving no currency. There are also codes specifying certain monetary instruments used in international finance, the codes for most supranational currencies, such as the East Caribbean dollar, the CFP franc, the CFA franc BEAC and the CFA franc BCEAO. The predecessor to the euro, the European Currency Unit, had the code XEU, the use of an initial letter X for these purposes is facilitated by the ISO3166 rule that no official country code beginning with X will ever be assigned. Because of this rule ISO4217 can use X codes without risk of clashing with a country code. ISO3166 country codes beginning with X are used for private custom use, consequently, ISO4217 can use X codes for non-country-specific currencies without risk of clashing with future country codes. The inclusion of EU in the ISO 3166-1 reserved codes list, the ISO4217 standard includes a crude mechanism for expressing the relationship between a major currency unit and its corresponding minor currency unit. This mechanism is called the exponent and assumes a base of 10. For example, USD is equal to 100 of its currency unit the cent. So the USD has exponent 2, the code JPY is given the exponent 0, because its minor unit, the sen, although nominally valued at 1/100 of a yen, is of such negligible value that it is no longer used. Usually, as with the USD, the currency unit has a value that is 1/100 of the major unit, but in some cases 1/1000 is used. Mauritania does not use a decimal division of units, setting 1 ouguiya equal to 5 khoums, some currencies do not have any minor currency unit at all and these are given an exponent of 0, as with currencies whose minor units are unused due to negligible value. There is also a code number assigned to each currency
ISO 4217
–
An
airline ticket showing the price in the ISO 4217 code "
EUR " (bottom left) and not the
currency sign €
ISO 4217
–
A list of exchange rates for various base currencies given by a
money changer in Thailand, with the Thailand Baht as the counter (or quote) currency.
4.
Cent (currency)
–
In many national currencies, the cent, commonly represented by the cent sign is a monetary unit that equals 1⁄100 of the basic monetary unit. Etymologically, the word cent derives from the Latin word centum meaning hundred, cent also refers to a coin worth one cent. In the United States and Canada, the 1¢ coin is known by the nickname penny, alluding to the British coin. In Ireland the 1c coin is sometimes known as a penny in reference to the Irish penny. A cent is commonly represented by the cent sign, a letter c crossed by a diagonal stroke or a vertical line, ¢, or a simple c. Cent amounts from 1 cent to 99 cents can be represented as one or two digits followed by the abbreviation, or as a subdivision of the base unit. The cent sign has not survived the changeover from typewriters to computer keyboards, for the US International keyboard, <Right Alt> <Shift> c. On Macintosh systems, hold ⌥ Option and press 4 on the number row, on Unix/Linux systems with a compose key, Compose+|+C is a typical sequence. The cent sign has Unicode code point, U+00A2 ¢ cent sign, usage of the cent symbol varies from one currency to another. In the United States, Canada and Mexico, the usage ¢ is more common, while in Australia, New Zealand and the eurozone, in South Africa and Ireland, only the c is used. When written in English, the cent sign follows the amount, in contrast with a currency symbol. For example, 2¢ and $0.02, or 2c, greek coins have ΛΕΠΤΟ on the obverse of the one-cent coin and ΛΕΠΤΑ on the obverse of the others. Actual usage varies depending on language, South Korean Won no fractional denomination in circulation, formerly divided into 100 jeon
Cent (currency)
–
A United States one-cent coin, also known as a
penny
5.
Currency symbol
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A currency symbol is a graphic symbol used as a shorthand for a currencys name, especially in reference to amounts of money. The European Commission considers the global recognition of the euro sign € part of its success, in 2009, India launched a public competition to replace the ₨ ligature it shared with neighbouring countries. It finalised its new symbol, ₹ on 15 July 2010. It is a blend of the Latin letter R with the Devanagari letter र, when writing currency amounts the location of the symbol varies by currency. Many currencies in the English-speaking world and Latin America, place it before the amount, the Cape Verdean escudo places its symbol in the decimal separator position. The usage of many European countries, such as France, Germany, the decimal separator also follows local countries standards. For instance, the United Kingdom often uses an interpunct as the point on price stickers. Commas or decimal points are common separators used in other countries, see decimal separator for information on international standards. Older currency symbols have evolved slowly, often from previous currencies, the dollar and peso symbols originated from the mark employed to denote the Spanish real de a ocho, whereas the pound and lira symbols evolved from an L standing for libra, a Roman pound of silver. Newly invented currencies and currencies adopting new symbols have symbolism closer to their adopter, the added center bar in the real sign is meant to symbolize stability. The new Indian rupee symbol, ₹, is a combination of Latin. There are also considerations, such as the perception of the business community. For a new symbol to be used, software to render it needs to be promulgated, the EU was criticized for not considering how the euro symbol would need to be customized to work in different fonts. The original design was exceptionally wide. These two factors have led to most typefaces employing customized, font-specific versions, usually with reduced width, List of currencies List of circulating currencies Currency Symbols
Currency symbol
–
Official dimensions of the
euro sign
6.
Dollar sign
–
The dollar sign is a symbol primarily used to indicate the various units of currency around the world. The symbol can interchangeably have one or two vertical strokes, note that the two-stroked version is not the same symbol as the cifrão. In common usage, the sign appears to the left of the amount specified, the best documented explanation holds that the sign evolved out of the Spanish and Spanish American scribal abbreviation pˢ for pesos. A study of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century manuscripts shows that the s gradually came to be written over the p, a variation, though less plausible, of this hypothesis derives the sign from a combination of the Greek character psi and S. There are a number of hypotheses about the origin of the symbol, some with a measure of academic acceptance. Kingdom of Sicily Denaro minted in the Kingdom in Sicily at least by 1258–1266 had what could be construed as a dollar symbol. These coins were widely circulated due to the Crusades – and specifically the Crusade that targeted Tunis, several alternative hypotheses relate specifically to the dollar sign drawn with two vertical lines. A common hypothesis holds that the sign derives from the Spanish coat of arms, in 1492, Ferdinand II of Aragon adopted the symbol of the Pillars of Hercules and added the Latin warning Non plus ultra meaning nothing further beyond, indicating this is the end of the world. But when Christopher Columbus came to America, the legend was changed to Plus ultra, the Pillars of Hercules wrapped in a banner thus became a symbol of the New World. In this example the right-hand pillar clearly resembles the dollar sign, the symbol was adopted by Charles V and was part of his coat of arms representing Spains American possessions. The symbol was later stamped on coins minted in gold and silver, the coin, also known as Spanish dollar, was the first global currency used in the entire world since the Spanish Empire was the first global Empire. These coins, depicting the pillars over two hemispheres and a small S-shaped ribbon around each, were spread throughout America, Europe and Asia. According to this, traders wrote signs that, instead of saying Spanish dollar, had this made by hand. When the US got independence from the UK, they created the American dollar, a dollar sign with two vertical lines could have started off as a monogram of USA, used on money bags issued by the United States Mint. The letters U and S superimposed resemble the historical double-stroke dollar sign, robert Morris was such a zealous patriot – known as the Financier of the Revolution in the West – that conjecture does not overstep its bounds in purporting this hypothesis as viable. A similar idea claims that the letters U and S would stand for unit of silver, referencing pieces of eight again, another hypothesis is that it derives from the symbol used on a German Thaler. This refers to the Bible, Numbers, Chapter 21, a similar symbol, constructed by superposition of S and I or J, was used to denote German Joachimsthaler. It was known in the English-speaking world by the 17th century, robert Morris was the first to use that symbol in official documents and in official communications with Oliver Pollock
Dollar sign
–
Image of a 1768 Spanish Colonial Real silver coin, showing the PTSI mint mark in the lower right and left quadrants and the
Pillars of Hercules surrounding a picture of the world.
Dollar sign
–
Evolution of the dollar sign according to the best documented hypothesis (top) and one alternative hypothesis (bottom)
Dollar sign
–
The plaque in St. Andrews.
7.
Banknotes of the New Zealand dollar
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This article concerns the banknotes of the New Zealand dollar Banknotes of the New Zealand dollar have all been issued by the Reserve Bank which also had two pre-dollar issues. Consequently, the first dollar issue is the third Issue of banknotes by the Reserve Bank, prior to 10 July 1967, the New Zealand pound, using the £sd system, was the main currency of New Zealand. Since 1934, banknotes of the New Zealand pound were issued by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and came in denominations of 10s, £1, £5, £10, the first issue notes are rare collectibles today. Decimalisation of the New Zealand currency occurred on 10 July 1967, on the same day, new decimal banknotes were introduced to replace the existing pound banknotes, in denominations of $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, and $100. These first decimal banknotes all featured a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, the reverse featured a native New Zealand bird and a native New Zealand plant. The colour scheme on all but the $5 note remained the same on equivalent pound and dollar notes to ease the transition. The second issue of New Zealand dollar banknotes occurred around 1978 -1980, but officially done at 1981, the new notes had a different design from the first decimal currency issue. The portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was updated, and she now faced forward and it was based upon a photograph by Peter Grugeon, with the Queen wearing Grand Duchess Vladimirs tiara and Queen Victorias golden jubilee necklace. The $50 note was introduced in 1988 to fill the gap between the $20 and the $100 notes. $1 and $2 notes were discontinued in 1991 and replaced by gold-coloured coins, requests for a donation e. g. for admission often now say gold coin please. A commemorative $200 note was introduced in 1990 to commemorate 150 Years of the Treaty of Waitangi, in 1991, the existing $1 and $2 notes were withdrawn in spite of complaints and all the other banknotes were redesigned. The Queen replaced Captain Cook as the image for the watermark, a notable feature of the new series was the inclusion of the portrait of Sir Edmund Hillary on the obverse of the $5 note. Hillary was one of the few living non-heads of state to feature on a banknote in the world. Apparently, when we went to decimal currency in 1967, somebody in the Treasury or the Reserve Bank had signed away the copyright of the New Zealand banknotes to a company in Whangarei, so the only way out of a hopeless bargaining position was to redesign the banknotes. The Whangarei firm was a subsidiary of a British company, and after going out to tender the same Whangarei company won, in 1999, New Zealand changed from paper banknotes to polymer banknotes. The change increased the life of the fourfold, and also allowed new. The overall design of the notes remained unchanged albeit for slight modifications for the new security features, around 1999 -2000, a commemorative $10 note was issued for the new millennium. In July 2011, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced a new issue of banknotes will be released for circulation from 2015
Banknotes of the New Zealand dollar
–
$20
Banknotes of the New Zealand dollar
8.
New Zealand twenty-dollar note
–
The New Zealand twenty-dollar note is the current middle denomination banknote of the New Zealand dollar. The $20 note was introduced on 10 July 1967, replacing the New Zealand ten-pound note, the first $20 notes featured Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse, with a window watermark panel showing a portrait of Captain James Cook. The obverse featured a kererū and a miro and this issues design was very similar to the first issue, with the most obvious difference being the updated portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. There is also some new color changes, in 1990, all of New Zealands notes were redesigned. This note is different from the series because it was issued in cotton not polymer. In 1999, the used to make twenty dollar notes was changed to polymer. The basic design of the note remained unchanged, although new anti-counterfeiting measures such as transparent sections of the note were added, the 20 has the New Zealand Parliament Buildings on it, which is to the left of Elizabeth II, the portrait was taken in 1986. On the back is the kārearea, the scene in the background is Mount Tapuaenuku, the highest peak on the South Islands Inland Kaikoura range, standing at 2,885 Meters in height. The note has a window of a fern on the left. There is a fern printed on the sides, when held up to the light the fern will be complete and match up perfectly. Above the oval window, there is a watermark of Elizabeth II when its held up to the light, when put under UV Light a yellow patch will appear with the denomination on it. A tinnie is a term coined for marijuana buds wrapped in aluminium foil which are illegally sold in New Zealand. The most popular price and form of used in exchange for tinnies is a 20 dollar note, although this can vary depending on quantity, weight, area. Tinnies are often frowned upon even by regular marijuana consumers, the term and sale of which are only common in rougher areas of the towns
New Zealand twenty-dollar note
–
Twenty Dollars
9.
Coins of the New Zealand dollar
–
This article concerns the coins of the New Zealand dollar. Prior to 10 July 1967, the New Zealand pound, using the £sd system, was the currency of New Zealand, Coins of the pound tend to follow the size, weight, and composition of their British counterparts. The main coins in usage were the halfpenny, penny, threepence, sixpence, shilling, florin, and halfcrown. Decimalisation of the New Zealand currency occurred on 10 July 1967, on the same day, new decimal coins were introduced to replace the existing pound coins. The first coins of the New Zealand dollar were 1c, 2c, 5c, 10c, 20c, the 1c, 2c, and 50c coins were new sizes, with the 1c and 2c minted in bronze, and 50c in cupronickel. The new 5c, 10c, and 20c were the size, weight, and value as the former sixpence, shilling. Indeed, until 1970, the 10 cents coin bore the additional legend One Shilling, the obverse designs of all the coins featured Arnold Machins portrait of Elizabeth II, with the legend ELIZABETH II NEW ZEALAND. The initial designs for the sides of the coins introduced in 1967 were rejected by the Royal Mint. Several more designs were produced, followed by a public debate. James Berrys designs were accepted for most of the coins, although he was asked to rework his design for the 5c coin. In 1986, the portrait of Elizabeth II on New Zealand coins was changed to Raphael Makloufs new portrait of the Queen, towards the end of the 1980s, the 1c and 2c were becoming of little value, and it was decided to withdraw these coins from circulation. The last coins of denominations were minted for circulation in 1987. The coins were withdrawn from circulation, before finally being demonetised on 1 May 1990. After the withdrawal of these coins, cash transactions were normally rounded to the nearest 5 cents, some larger retailers, in the interests of public relations, elected to round the total price down. Alternatively, many retailers rounded all their prices to the nearest 5 cents to avoid the issue entirely—so a New Zealand shopper often encountered products for sale at prices like $4.95. On 11 February 1991, $1 and $2 coins were introduced to replace the $1 and these coins were minted in aluminium bronze, and were the first New Zealand coins to be minted to metric specifications. At the same time, because the new $1 coin depicted a kiwi, the new 20c coins depicted a Māori carving of Pukaki, a chief of the Ngati Whakaue iwi. Coins with kiwi design, however, outnumbered coins with the new design until they were replaced with the new 20c coins, all depicting the later design, in 1999, Ian Rank-Broadleys portrait of the Queen was introduced and the legend rearranged to read NEW ZEALAND ELIZABETH II
Coins of the New Zealand dollar
–
The reverse designs of the current circulating New Zealand dollar coins. Image by Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
10.
New Zealand twenty-cent coin
–
The New Zealand twenty-cent coin is the second lowest denomination coin of the New Zealand dollar. The 20 cent coin was introduced when the New Zealand dollar was introduced on 10 July 1967 and its original reverse of a kiwi was changed in 1990 when the image was moved onto the one dollar coin. In 2006 its size was reduced and its edge altered to a Spanish flower as part of a revision of New Zealands coins, which also saw its alloy become nickel-plated steel. On 10 July 1967, New Zealands former pre-decimal pound currency, therefore,20 cents was worth a tenth of a pound. The 20 cent coin replaced the coin which had been worth two shillings, or a tenth of a pound. Like the florin, the new 20 cent coin was made of cupronickel,28.58 mm in diameter,11.31 grams in weight, the 20 cent coin retained the presence of a kiwi on the reverse of the florin, albeit in a different design. The original obverses of 20 cent coins depicted Arnold Machins portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, in 1986 the portrait was changed to the one by Raphael Maklouf, which had been introduced to the coins of the pound sterling in the previous year. Mintings of this coin from 1990 are rare, in 1990, the new $1 and $2 coins were released to replace the $1 and $2 notes. As the $1 depicted a kiwi also, the 20 cents reverse had to be redesigned, the new reverse side featured the well-known Māori carving depicting Pukaki, a chief of the Ngāti Whakaue iwi of Te Arawa. In 1999, the portrait of the Queen was changed to a version by Ian Rank-Broadley which had introduced to the coins of the pound sterling in the previous year. No 20 cent coins were minted between 1991 and 2001, the existing 20 cent coins remained in circulation and greatly outnumbered the new design until 2006. On 31 July 2006, the new 20 cent coin was released alongside the new 10 cent and 50 cent coins as part of the Reserve Banks Change for the silver coin replacement. The new 20 cent coin had the reverse as the 1990 to 2006 minted coins and the same obverse as the 1999-onward coins. The new 20 cent coins are made of steel, covered in a layer of nickel, copper, the new coins are 21.75 mm in diameter and 4 grams in weight. They have Spanish flower milling around the edge, splitting it into seven sections, for their introduction in 2006,116 million were minted, with a total value of NZ$23.2 million. The only other year of issue was 2008, where 80 million coins, the old 20 cent coins were demonetized on 1 November 2006. According to Reserve Bank of New Zealand, values are in New Zealand dollars. No large 20 cent coins were minted in 1968,1970, due to the large amount made for the introduction of the small 20 cent, none were minted in 2007 or from 2009 onwards
New Zealand twenty-cent coin
–
Twenty cents
New Zealand twenty-cent coin
11.
New Zealand one-dollar coin
–
The New Zealand one-dollar coin is a coin of the New Zealand dollar. The current circulating coin was introduced on 11 February 1991 to replace the existing $1 note, there had previously been occasional issues of commemorative silver dollars, but they are rarely seen in circulation. The depiction of a kiwi on the reverse helps give the New Zealand dollar the colloquial name Kiwi, the current coin replaced the New Zealand one dollar note in use since New Zealands currency was decimalised on 10 July 1967. The reason for replacing the note was due to making the note more expensive to produce. The $1 coins, and $2 coins, were first minted in 1990, the $1 notes were withdrawn later that year. The new $1 coin was made of bronze, and was 23.0 mm in diameter,2.74 mm thick. The edge of the coin consisted of eight sections, alternating between milling and plain sections. The reverse of the coin was designed by Robert Maurice Conly, both the kiwi and the silver ferns sat above the legend reading the denomination ONE DOLLAR. The obverse consisted of Raphael Makloufs portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, in 1999, the obverse of all new $1 coins was changed with the addition of Ian Rank-Broadleys portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, and the legend was rearranged to read NEW ZEALAND ELIZABETH II. In 2006 the Reserve Bank of New Zealand replaced the 10c, 20c and 50c coins in circulation with smaller, lighter ones, the $1 remained the same as it was relatively new, they circulated well, and the extra expense of adapting machines that only took $1 coins. Another reason for the change in size was that the 10c and $1 coin were very similar in size and these coins can be used in coin fraud in the UK as they sometimes pass for £1 coins in vending machines. They can often be spent in shops too, especially the later head coins
New Zealand one-dollar coin
–
One dollar
New Zealand one-dollar coin
12.
New Zealand
–
New Zealand /njuːˈziːlənd/ is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, the countrys varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealands capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland, sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand, in 1840, representatives of Britain and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire, today, the majority of New Zealands population of 4.7 million is of European descent, the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealands culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life. Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, Queen Elizabeth II is the countrys head of state and is represented by a governor-general. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes, the Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau, the Cook Islands and Niue, and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealands territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and called it Staten Landt, in 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand, Aotearoa is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the country before the arrival of Europeans. Māori had several names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui for the North Island and Te Waipounamu or Te Waka o Aoraki for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North, Middle and South, in 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised and this set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu
New Zealand
–
The Waitangi sheet from the
Treaty of Waitangi
New Zealand
–
Flag
New Zealand
–
Painting of
Mount Earnslaw by John Turnbull Thomson, oil on canvas, 1888
New Zealand
–
John Key,
Prime Minister of New Zealand since 2008
13.
Cook Islands
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The Cook Islands is a self-governing island country in the South Pacific Ocean in free association with New Zealand. It comprises 15 islands whose total area is 240 square kilometres. The Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone, however, covers 1,800,000 square kilometres of ocean, the Cook Islands defence and foreign affairs are the responsibility of New Zealand, but they are exercised in consultation with the Cook Islands. In recent times, the Cook Islands have adopted an independent foreign policy. Although Cook Islanders are citizens of New Zealand, they have the status of Cook Islands nationals, the Cook Islands main population centres are on the island of Rarotonga, where there is an international airport. There is a population of Cook Islanders in New Zealand. In the 2006 census,58,008 self-identified as being of ethnic Cook Islands Māori descent, the Cook Islands are in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand, between French Polynesia and American Samoa. There are 15 major islands spread over 2,200,000 km2 of ocean, the islands were formed by volcanic activity, the northern group is older and consists of six atolls, which are sunken volcanoes topped by coral growth. The climate is moderate to tropical, palmerston Island sometimes grouped with the Northern Group. Manuae Winslow Reef The Cook Islands were first settled in the 6th century by Polynesian people who migrated from Tahiti, in 1813 John Williams, a missionary on the Endeavour made the first recorded sighting of Rarotonga. The first recorded landing on Rarotonga by Europeans was in 1814 by the Cumberland, the islands saw no more Europeans until missionaries arrived from England in 1821. Christianity quickly took hold in the culture and many continue to be Christian believers today. The Cook Islands became a British protectorate in 1888, due largely to community fears that France might occupy the territory as it had Tahiti, on 6 September 1900, the leading islanders presented a petition asking that the islands should be annexed as British territory. These instruments did not include Aitutaki and it appears that, though the inhabitants regarded themselves as British subjects, the Crowns title was uncertain, and the island was formally annexed by Proclamation dated 9 October 1900. The islands were included within the boundaries of the Colony of New Zealand in 1901 by Order in Council under the Colonial Boundaries Act,1895 of the United Kingdom. The boundary change became effective on 11 June 1901 and the Cook Islands have had a relationship with New Zealand ever since. When the British Nationality and New Zealand Citizenship Act 1948 came into effect on 1 January 1949, the country remained a New Zealand dependent territory until 1965, when the New Zealand Government decided to offer self-governing status to its colony. In that year, Albert Henry of the Cook Islands Party was elected as the first Premier, Henry led the country until he was accused of vote-rigging
Cook Islands
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Tapuaetai (One Foot Island) in the southern part of
Aitutaki Atoll
Cook Islands
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Flag
Cook Islands
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Beach on
Rarotonga
Cook Islands
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Governor-General
Lord Ranfurly reading the annexation proclamation to
Queen Makea
14.
Cook Islands dollar
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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, 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, the Cook Islands dollar is pegged at par to the New Zealand dollar. The currency of New Zealand and the Cook Islands circulate concurrently within the country, coins have been struck on different occasions mainly by the Royal Australian Mint, the Franklin Mint, and the Perth Mint with the paper currency being printed by De La Rue. 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 size, weight, and composition as the corresponding New Zealand coins, however. 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 this coin was issued to replace its bulky predecessor. 2003 saw the reintroduction of a 1-cent coin, this time composed of aluminium rather than bronze and these were issued with five different reverses, each commemorating a few of the nations historical themes. A large, stainless steel 5 cent coin was issued in 2000 centred on FAO, the 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,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 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 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 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, however, $1, $2, and $5 pieces remained in use. As part of a reform, new coins were minted in 2015 by the Royal Australian Mint. The new coins carry similar designs to the ones with the 10,20, and 50 cents struck in nickel-plated steel, while the 1,2
Cook Islands dollar
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$3 front
Cook Islands dollar
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Clockwise from top: $5, $1, 5¢, 10¢, $2.
Cook Islands dollar
15.
Niue
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Niue is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean,2,400 kilometres northeast of New Zealand, and east of Tonga, south of Samoa and west of the Cook Islands. Its land area is 260 square kilometres and its population, predominantly Polynesian, is around 1,612 as of November 2016 and they commonly refer to the island as The Rock, a reference to the traditional name Rock of Polynesia. Niue, whose capital is the village of Alofi, is a state in free association with New Zealand. Niueans are citizens of New Zealand, and Queen Elizabeth II is head of state in her capacity as Queen of New Zealand, between 90–95% of Niuean people live in New Zealand, along with about 70% of the speakers of the Niuean language. A bilingual country, over 30% speak both Niuean and English, though the percentage of monolingual English-speaking people is only 11%, while 46% are monolingual Niuean speakers, Rugby is the most played sport in Niue. In October 2016, Niue officially declared that all its debt was paid off. Niue is not a member of the United Nations, but UN organisations have accepted its status as a state as equivalent to independence for the purposes of international law. As such, Niue is a member of some UN specialised agencies, and is invited, alongside the other non-UN member state. Niue is subdivided into 14 villages, each village has a village council that elects its chairman. The villages are at the same electoral districts. Each village sends an assemblyman to the Parliament of Niue, in 2003, Niue became the first country in the world to offer free wireless internet to all its inhabitants. Niue Island Organic Farmers Association is currently paving way to an MEA committed to making Niue the worlds first fully organic nation, a leader in green growth, Niue is also transitioning to solar power, with help from the European Union. In 2015, Niue started providing phone landlines to all of its inhabitants, in 2008, Niue became the first country in the world where laptops are provided to all its school students. A highly democratic nation, Niueans enjoy high freedom, with elections every 3 years, there are no political parties in Niue, all are independents. The last political party, Niue Peoples Party, won once, in January 2004, Niue was hit by Cyclone Heta, which caused extensive damage to the entire island, including wiping out most of the south of the capital, Alofi. The disaster set the island back about two years from its planned timeline to implement the Niue Integrated Strategic Plan, since national efforts concentrated on recovery, in 2008, Niue had yet to fully recover. Niue is one of the worlds largest coral islands, the terrain consists of steep limestone cliffs along the coast with a central plateau rising to about 60 metres above sea level. A coral reef surrounds the island, with the only break in the reef being in the central western coast, close to the capital
Niue
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Interior of church building in
Alofi, 1896. Photo by
Thomas Andrew (1855–1939).
Niue
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Flag
Niue
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Coral chasm in Niue
Niue
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Niue's coastline
16.
Pitcairn Islands
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The four islands – Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno – are spread over several hundred miles of ocean and have a total land area of about 47 square kilometres. Only Pitcairn, the second-largest island that measures about 3.6 kilometres from east to west, is inhabited, the islands are inhabited mostly by descendants of nine Bounty mutineers and the Tahitians who accompanied them, an event that has been retold in many books and films. This history is apparent in the surnames of many of the islanders. With only about 50 permanent inhabitants, originating from four main families, although archaeologists believe that Polynesians were living on Pitcairn as late as the 15th century, the islands were uninhabited when they were rediscovered by Europeans. Ducie and Henderson Islands were discovered by Portuguese sailor Pedro Fernandes de Queirós, sailing for the Spanish Crown and he named them La Encarnación and San Juan Bautista, respectively. Pitcairn Island was sighted on 3 July 1767 by the crew of the British sloop HMS Swallow, the island was named after Midshipman Robert Pitcairn, a fifteen-year-old crew member who was the first to sight the island. Robert Pitcairn was a son of British Marine Major John Pitcairn, Carteret, who sailed without the newly invented marine chronometer, charted the island at 25°2′S 133°21′W, and although the latitude was reasonably accurate, the longitude was incorrect by about 3°. This made Pitcairn difficult to find, as highlighted by the failure of Captain James Cook to locate the island in July 1773. In 1790, nine of the mutineers from the Bounty, along with the native Tahitian men and women who were with them, settled on Pitcairn Islands, the wreck is still visible underwater in Bounty Bay, discovered in 1957 by National Geographic explorer Luis Marden. Although the settlers survived by farming and fishing, the period of settlement was marked by serious tensions among them. Alcoholism, murder, disease and other ills took the lives of most mutineers, John Adams and Ned Young turned to the scriptures, using the ships Bible as their guide for a new and peaceful society. Young eventually died of an asthmatic infection, after the rediscovery of Pitcairn, John Adams was granted amnesty for his part in the mutiny. Ducie Island was rediscovered in 1791 by Royal Navy Captain Edwards aboard HMS Pandora and he named it after Francis Reynolds-Moreton, 3rd Baron Ducie, also a captain in the Royal Navy. A second ship appeared in 1801, but made no attempt to communicate with them, a third came sufficiently near to see their house, but did not try to send a boat on shore. Finally, the American sealing ship Topaz under Mayhew Folger became the first to visit the island, a report of Folgers discovery was forwarded to the Admiralty, mentioning the mutineers and giving a more precise location of the island, 25°2′S 130°0′W. However this was not known to Sir Thomas Staines, who commanded a Royal Navy flotilla of two ships found the island at 25°4′S 130°25′W on 17 September 1814. Staines sent a party ashore and wrote a report for the Admiralty. Henderson Island was rediscovered on 17 January 1819 by British Captain James Henderson of the British East India Company ship Hercules, Captain Henry King, sailing on the Elizabeth, landed on 2 March to find the kings colours already flying
Pitcairn Islands
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The mutineers turning Bligh and part of the officers and crew adrift from the
Bounty, 29 April 1789
Pitcairn Islands
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Flag
Pitcairn Islands
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Church of Adamstown
Pitcairn Islands
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Pitcairn Island as seen from a globe view with other Pacific Islands.
17.
UK
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
UK
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Stonehenge, in
Wiltshire, was erected around 2500 BC.
UK
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Flag
UK
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The
Bayeux Tapestry depicts the
Battle of Hastings, 1066, and the events leading to it.
UK
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The
Treaty of Union led to a single united kingdom encompassing all Great Britain.
18.
Ross Dependency
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The Ross Dependency is a region of Antarctica defined by a sector originating at the South Pole, passing along longitudes 160° east to 150° west, and terminating at latitude 60° south. It is claimed by New Zealand, the Dependency takes its name from Sir James Clark Ross, who discovered the Ross Sea, and includes part of Victoria Land, and most of the Ross Ice Shelf. Ross Island, Balleny Islands and the small Scott Island also form part of the Dependency, following his discovery of Victoria Land in 1841, James Clark Ross took possession of this territory, along with the surrounding sea, on behalf of Britain. The Order in Council then went on to appoint the Governor-General and this Order in Council was published in the New Zealand Gazette on 16 August 1923, and on 14 November 1923, the Governor-General issued regulations extending New Zealand law to the Ross Dependency. Sir Francis stated that, The boundaries of New Zealand are not extended to include the Ross sea, but his excellency was required in all matters of legislation and regulation for the Ross Territory to comply with instructions from the colonial secretary. Technically, the claim is that of the Queen and she can exercise it through any of her Governments, at an Imperial conference in 1930, it was agreed that the Governors-General of the Dominions would be appointed by the King on the advice of the Dominion in question. And following the passing of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, then in the year 1959, the Antarctic Treaty was signed by twelve nations which included both the United Kingdom and New Zealand. The actual amount of land mass claimed is not large, most of the area defined as being in the Ross Dependency is either in the Ross Sea or the Antarctic Ocean. It is the second-smallest of the claims which were prior to the implementation of the Antarctic Treaty System. Officers of the Government of the Ross Dependency are annually appointed to run the Dependency, the New Zealand Geographic Board has named many features within the Dependency. The Dependency has a runway at Williams Field, and depending on conditions and time of year. This guarantees accessibility by wheeled and ski equipped aircraft year round, from 1969 to 1995 New Zealand operated a summer-only base called Vanda Station in the Dry Valley area of the dependency. Greenpeace maintained its own Antarctic station in the Ross Dependency called World Park Base from 1987 to 1992, as this base was a non-governmental entity, the official policy of the signatory nations of the Antarctic Treaty was not to give any support or assistance to it. The expedition was criticised by scientists in the Antarctic because the rescue, timeline of New Zealands links with Antarctica New Zealand, Antarctica and the Southern Ocean — Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. south-pole. com/homepage
Ross Dependency
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Aerial photo of
Mount Erebus on
Ross Island.
Ross Dependency
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Flag
19.
Tokelau
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Tokelau is an island country in the southern Pacific Ocean that consists of three tropical coral atolls with a combined land area of 10 km2 and a population of approximately 1,400. Its capital rotates yearly between the three atolls, Tokelau lies north of the Samoan Islands, Swains Island being the nearest, east of Tuvalu, south of the Phoenix Islands, southwest of the more distant Line Islands, and northwest of the Cook Islands. Until 1976, the name was Tokelau Islands. Tokelau is a leader in energy, being the first 100% solar powered nation in the world. Tokelau is a free and democratic nation with elections every three years, all run as independents, there are no political parties in Tokelau. The most spoken language in Tokelau is Tokelauan, at 93. 5%, a dependent territory of New Zealand, it is sometimes referred to by its older colonial name, the Union Islands. In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly designated Tokelau a non-self-governing territory, however, Tokelau is officially referred to as a nation by both the New Zealand government and the Tokelauan government. The basis of Tokelaus legislative, administrative and judicial systems is the Tokelau Islands Act 1948, in 1992, the head of government was established, who is elected every 3 years. The national anthem is God Save the Queen, nonetheless, Tokelau continues to decrease in population. The largest settlement in Tokelau is Fale, Tokelau has the smallest economy in the world and has a life expectancy of 69, comparable with other Oceanian island nations. The name Tokelau is a Polynesian word meaning north wind, the islands were named the Union Islands and Union Group by European explorers at an unknown time. Tokelau Islands was adopted as the name in 1946, and was contracted to Tokelau on 9 December 1976, Tokelau includes three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean between longitudes 171° and 173° W and between latitudes 8° and 10° S, about midway between Hawaii and New Zealand. They lie about 500 kilometres north of Samoa, the atolls are Atafu, Nukunonu, both in a group of islands once called the Duke of Clarence Group, and Fakaofo, once Bowditch Island. Their combined land area is 10.8 km2, the atolls each have a number of coral islands, where the villages are situated. The highest point of Tokelau is just 5 metres above sea level, there are no ports or harbours for large vessels, however, all three atolls have a jetty to and from which supplies and passengers are shipped. Tokelau lies in the Pacific tropical cyclone belt, Swains Island was claimed by the United States pursuant to the Guano Islands Act, as were the other three islands of Tokelau, which claims were ceded to Tokelau by treaty in 1979. This established a defined boundary between American Samoa and Tokelau. Tokelauans have proved reluctant to push their national identity in the political realm
Tokelau
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Nukunonu Lagoon in Tokelau.
Tokelau
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Flag
Tokelau
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The
atoll of
Fakaofo, southernmost of the Tokelau Islands.
Tokelau
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A barge leaves the landing ramp in Nukunono to collect cargo and passengers from the MV Tokelau
20.
Central bank
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A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages a states currency, money supply, and interest rates. Central banks also usually oversee the commercial banking system of their respective countries, Central banks in most developed nations are institutionally designed to be independent from political interference. Still, limited control by the executive and legislative bodies usually exists, prior to the 17th century most money was commodity money, typically gold or silver. However, promises to pay were widely circulated and accepted as value at least five hundred years earlier in both Europe and Asia. The Song dynasty was the first to issue generally circulating paper currency, in 1455, in an effort to control inflation, the succeeding Ming Dynasty ended the use of paper money and closed much of Chinese trade. The Bank of Amsterdam, established in the Dutch Republic in 1609, is considered to be the forerunner to modern central banks. The Wisselbanks innovations helped lay the foundations for the birth and development of the banking system that now plays a vital role in the worlds economy. Along with a number of local banks, it performed many functions of a central banking system. Lucien Gillard calls it the European guilder, and Adam Smith devotes many pages to explaining how the bank guilder works, the model of the Wisselbank as a state bank was adapted throughout Europe, including the Bank of Sweden and the Bank of England. Established by Dutch-Latvian Johan Palmstruch in 1668, Sveriges Riksbank is often considered by many as the worlds oldest central bank, the lenders would give the government cash and also issue notes against the government bonds, which could be lent again. A Royal Charter was granted on 27 July through the passage of the Tonnage Act 1694, the bank was given exclusive possession of the governments balances, and was the only limited-liability corporation allowed to issue banknotes. The £1. 2M was raised in 12 days, half of this was used to rebuild the Navy and these modern central banking functions evolved slowly through the 18th and 19th centuries. The currency crisis of 1797, caused by panicked depositors withdrawing from the Bank led to the government suspending convertibility of notes into specie payment. The bank was accused by the bullionists of causing the exchange rate to fall from over issuing banknotes. Nevertheless, it was clear that the Bank was being treated as an organ of the state, henry Thornton, a merchant banker and monetary theorist has been described as the father of the modern central bank. An opponent of the real bills doctrine, he was a defender of the bullionist position, thorntons process of monetary expansion anticipated the theories of Knut Wicksell regarding the cumulative process which restates the Quantity Theory in a theoretically coherent form. Until the mid-nineteenth century, commercial banks were able to issue their own banknotes, many consider the origins of the central bank to lie with the passage of the Bank Charter Act of 1844. Under this law, authorisation to issue new banknotes was restricted to the Bank of England, at the same time, the Bank of England was restricted to issue new banknotes only if they were 100% backed by gold or up to £14 million in government debt
Central bank
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Public finance
Central bank
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The old town hall in Amsterdam where the
Bank of Amsterdam was founded in 1609, painting by
Pieter Saenredam.
Central bank
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The sealing of the Bank of England Charter (1694).
Central bank
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The
Bank of England, established in 1694.
21.
Reserve Bank of New Zealand
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The Reserve Bank of New Zealand 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 New Zealands currency and operating monetary policy. The Banks current Governor is Graeme Wheeler, employees of the bank operate under the framework of a managerial hierarchy. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand does not offer services to the public nor does it offer deposit insurance. Unlike the United States Federal Reserve, the Reserve Bank does not have elements of private ownership, according to its website and it is 100% owned by the New Zealand Government, with any extra revenue that the Reserve Bank makes going back into the Crown accounts. The Central Bank is not a government department, but is a body corporate whose finances are included in the Crown accounts, the Reserve Banks primary function, as defined by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989 is to provide stability in the general level of prices. The Reserve Bank is responsible for independent management of monetary policy to maintain price stability, the degree of price stability is determined through a Policy Target Agreement with the Minister of Finance. Policy Target Agreements are public documents and hence a government cannot secretly change the targets to gain a short term surge in economic growth, the mechanism of this is the Official Cash Rate which affects short-term interest rates. The Bank will provide cash overnight at 0. 50% above the rate to Banks against good security with no limit. Furthermore, the bank will accept deposits from financial institutions with interest usually at the cash rate. The Reserve Bank borrows and offers loans with no limit on volumes in order to ensure that the interest rate in the remains at the Official Cash rate level. Through controlling this, the Reserve Bank can then influence short term demand in the New Zealand Economy, adjustments to the official cash rate are made eight times a year. It can make unscheduled adjustments but does not usually do so, like all modern monetary systems, the monetary system in New Zealand is based on fiat and fractional-reserve banking. In a fractional-reserve banking system, the largest portion of money created is not created by the Reserve Bank itself, the Bank by virtue of the Reserve Bank Act has the sole right of issuing New Zealand legal tender notes and coins. The Reserve Bank controls the issuing of currency to banks and also used and damaged money from circulation. In March 2005 the bank decided to remove the 5 cent coin from circulation, the Reserve Bank accepts all New Zealand currency for payment at face value. This applies to all demonetised or withdrawn currency, however such currency need not be accepted by money changers as it is no legal tender. All decimal notes are legal tender except $1 and $2 notes as these have been withdrawn, damaged notes are still worth something so long as they are recognisable
Reserve Bank of New Zealand
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RBNZ headquarters in Wellington
22.
Monetary inflation
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Monetary inflation is a sustained increase in the money supply of a country. There is general agreement among economists that there is a relationship between monetary inflation and price inflation. But there is neither a common view about the exact mechanisms and relationships. This relationship is constantly changing, within a larger complex economic system. Thus there are different views on what could be the best targets, however, there is a general consensus on the importance and responsibility of central banks and monetary authorities in setting public expectations of price inflation and in trying to control it. Keynesian economists believe the bank can sufficiently assess the detailed economic variables and circumstances in real time in order to control monetary policy in detail. These economists favor monetary policies that attempt to out the ups and downs of business cycles. Followers of the monetarist school think that Keynesian style monetary policies produce a lot of overshooting, time-lag errors and other unwanted effects, sometimes making things even worse. They doubt the central banks capacity to analyse economic problems in time and its ability to influence the economy with correct timing. So monetarists advocate less intrusive and complex monetary policies, like inflation targeting or a constant growth rate of money supply. Some followers of Austrian School economics advocate either the return to free markets in money, called free banking, or a 100% gold standard, currently, most central banks follow a monetarist or Keynesian approach, or more often a mix of both. There is a trend of central banks towards the monetarist approach, the mechanisms by which excess money might be translated into inflation are examined below. Individuals can also spend their excess money balances directly on goods and this has a direct impact on inflation by raising aggregate demand. Also, the increase in the demand for labour resulting from higher demands for goods and services will cause a rise in money wages, the more inelastic the aggregate supply in the economy, the greater the impact on inflation. The increase in demand for goods and services may cause a rise in imports, although this leakage from the domestic economy reduces the money supply, it also increases the supply of money on the foreign exchange market thus applying downward pressure on the exchange rate. However, under modern-day monetary systems, the supply of money is largely determined endogenously, but exogenous factors like government surpluses and deficits play a role and allow government to set inflation targets. Given that all major economies currently have a central bank supporting the private banking system, Austrian economists believe that credit growth propagates business cycles
Monetary inflation
–
World GDP (PPP) per capita by country (2014)
23.
Fixed exchange rate
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There are benefits and risks to using a fixed exchange rate. In doing so, the rate between the currency and its peg does not change based on market conditions, the way floating currencies do. A fixed exchange-rate system can also be used as a means to control the behavior of a currency, however, in doing so, the pegged currency is then controlled by its reference value. In other words, a currency is dependent on its reference value to dictate how its current worth is defined at any given time. The central bank provides the assets and/or the foreign currency or currencies which are needed in order to any payments imbalances. In the 21st century, the associated with large economies typically do not fix or peg exchange rates to other currencies. The last large economy to use a fixed exchange system was the Peoples Republic of China which, in July 2005. The European Exchange Rate Mechanism is also used on a basis to establish a final conversion rate against the Euro from the local currencies of countries joining the Eurozone. The gold standard or gold standard of fixed exchange rates prevailed from about 1870 to 1914. The period between the two wars was transitory, with the Bretton Woods system emerging as the new fixed exchange rate regime in the aftermath of World War II. It was formed with an intent to rebuild war-ravaged nations after World War II through a series of currency stabilization programs, the early 1970s saw the breakdown of the system and its replacement by a mixture of fluctuating and fixed exchange rates. Timeline of the exchange rate system, The earliest establishment of a gold standard was in the United Kingdom in 1821 followed by Australia in 1852. Under this system, the value of all currencies was denominated in terms of gold with central banks ready to buy. Each central bank maintained gold reserves as their official reserve asset, for example, during the “classical” gold standard period, the U. S. dollar was defined as 0.048 troy oz. of pure gold. Following the Second World War, the Bretton Woods system replaced gold with the U. S. dollar as the reserve asset. The regime intended to combine binding legal obligations with multilateral decision-making through the International Monetary Fund, the rules of this system were set forth in the articles of agreement of the IMF and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. S. Dollar and to exchange rates within 1% of parity by intervening in their foreign exchange markets. In December 1971, the Smithsonian Agreement paved the way for the increase in the value of the price of gold from US$35.50 to US$38 an ounce
Fixed exchange rate
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Fig.1: Mechanism of fixed exchange-rate system
24.
Currency sign
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A currency symbol is a graphic symbol used as a shorthand for a currencys name, especially in reference to amounts of money. The European Commission considers the global recognition of the euro sign € part of its success, in 2009, India launched a public competition to replace the ₨ ligature it shared with neighbouring countries. It finalised its new symbol, ₹ on 15 July 2010. It is a blend of the Latin letter R with the Devanagari letter र, when writing currency amounts the location of the symbol varies by currency. Many currencies in the English-speaking world and Latin America, place it before the amount, the Cape Verdean escudo places its symbol in the decimal separator position. The usage of many European countries, such as France, Germany, the decimal separator also follows local countries standards. For instance, the United Kingdom often uses an interpunct as the point on price stickers. Commas or decimal points are common separators used in other countries, see decimal separator for information on international standards. Older currency symbols have evolved slowly, often from previous currencies, the dollar and peso symbols originated from the mark employed to denote the Spanish real de a ocho, whereas the pound and lira symbols evolved from an L standing for libra, a Roman pound of silver. Newly invented currencies and currencies adopting new symbols have symbolism closer to their adopter, the added center bar in the real sign is meant to symbolize stability. The new Indian rupee symbol, ₹, is a combination of Latin. There are also considerations, such as the perception of the business community. For a new symbol to be used, software to render it needs to be promulgated, the EU was criticized for not considering how the euro symbol would need to be customized to work in different fonts. The original design was exceptionally wide. These two factors have led to most typefaces employing customized, font-specific versions, usually with reduced width, List of currencies List of circulating currencies Currency Symbols
Currency sign
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Official dimensions of the
euro sign
25.
Currency
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A currency in the most specific use of the word refers to money in any form when in actual use or circulation as a medium of exchange, especially circulating banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a system of money in common use, under this definition, US dollars, British pounds, Australian dollars, and European euros are examples of currency. These various currencies are recognized stores of value and are traded between nations in exchange markets, which determine the relative values of the different currencies. Currencies in this sense are defined by governments, and each type has limited boundaries of acceptance, other definitions of the term currency are discussed in their respective synonymous articles banknote, coin, and money. The latter definition, pertaining to the systems of nations, is the topic of this article. Currencies can be classified into two systems, fiat money and commodity money, depending on what guarantees the value. Some currencies are legal tender in certain jurisdictions, which means they cannot be refused as payment for debt. Others are simply traded for their economic value, digital currency has arisen with the popularity of computers and the Internet. Currency evolved from two basic innovations, both of which had occurred by 2000 BC, originally money was a form of receipt, representing grain stored in temple granaries in Sumer in ancient Mesopotamia, then Ancient Egypt. In this first stage of currency, metals were used as symbols to represent value stored in the form of commodities and this formed the basis of trade in the Fertile Crescent for over 1500 years. Trade could only reach as far as the credibility of that military and it is not known what was used as a currency for these exchanges, but it is thought that ox-hide shaped ingots of copper, produced in Cyprus, may have functioned as a currency. It is thought that the increase in piracy and raiding associated with the Bronze Age collapse, possibly produced by the Peoples of the Sea, brought the trading system of oxhide ingots to an end. In Africa, many forms of value store have been used, including beads, ingots, ivory, various forms of weapons, livestock, the manilla currency, the manilla rings of West Africa were one of the currencies used from the 15th century onwards to sell slaves. African currency is still notable for its variety, and in many various forms of barter still apply. These factors led to the metal itself being the store of value, first silver, now we have copper coins and other non-precious metals as coins. Metals were mined, weighed, and stamped into coins and this was to assure the individual taking the coin that he was getting a certain known weight of precious metal. Coins could be counterfeited, but they created a new unit of account. Most major economies using coinage had several tiers of coins, using a mix of copper, silver, gold coins were used for large purchases, payment of the military and backing of state activities, they were more often used as measures of account than physical coins
Currency
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Cowry shells being used as money by an Arab trader.
Currency
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Song dynasty Jiaozi, the world's earliest paper money.
26.
Dollar
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Dollar is the name of more than twenty currencies, including those of the United States, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Liberia, Jamaica and Namibia. Generally, one dollar is divided into one hundred cents, on 15 January 1520, the Czech Kingdom of Bohemia began minting coins from silver mined locally in Joachimsthal and marked on reverse with the Czech lion. The coins were called joachimsthaler, which became shortened in common usage to thaler or taler, the German name Joachimsthal literally means Joachims valley or Joachims dale. A later Dutch coin also depicting a lion was called the leeuwendaler or leeuwendaalder, the Dutch Republic produced these coins to accommodate its booming international trade. The leeuwendaler circulated throughout the Middle East and was imitated in several German and Italian cities and this coin was also popular in the Dutch East Indies and in the Dutch New Netherland Colony. It was in throughout the Thirteen Colonies during the 17th. The currencies of Romania and Bulgaria are, to this day, the modern American-English pronunciation of dollar is still remarkably close to the 17th century Dutch pronunciation of daler. Some well-worn examples circulating in the Colonies were known as dog dollars, Spanish pesos – having the same weight and shape – came to be known as Spanish dollars. By the time of the American Revolution, Spanish dollars gained significance because they backed paper money authorized by the individual colonies, common in the Thirteen Colonies, Spanish dollars were even legal tender in one colony, Virginia. On April 2,1792, U. S. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton reported to Congress the precise amount of found in Spanish dollar coins in common use in the states. As a result, the United States dollar was defined as a unit of silver weighing 371 4/16th grains. It was specified that the money of account of the United States should be expressed in those same dollars or parts thereof, in an act passed in January 1837, the dollars alloy was set at 15%. Subsequent coins would contain the amount of pure silver as previously. On February 21,1853, the quantity of silver in the coins was reduced. However, the dollars constitutional meaning has remained unchanged through the years, silver was mostly removed from U. S. coinage by 1965 and the dollar became a free-floating fiat currency without a commodity backing defined in terms of real gold or silver. The US Mint continues to make silver $1-denomination coins, but these are not intended for general circulation, there are many quotes in the plays of William Shakespeare referring to dollars as money. This might be supported by a reference to the sum of ten dollars in Macbeth. In 1804, a British five-shilling piece, or crown, was sometimes called dollar and it was an overstruck Spanish eight real coin, the original of which was known as a Spanish dollar
Dollar
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A
United States two-dollar bill. Rarely seen in circulation, but still in production and legal tender.
Dollar
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A
New Zealand one-dollar coin
Dollar
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500 old
Zimbabwean dollar bill of the first Zimbabwean dollar
Dollar
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A 100 billion dollars special agro-cheque issued during the
hyperinflation in Zimbabwe
27.
Kiwi
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Kiwi or kiwis are flightless birds native to New Zealand, in the genus Apteryx and family Apterygidae. At around the size of a chicken, kiwi are by far the smallest living ratites. DNA sequence comparisons have yielded the surprising conclusion that kiwi are much more related to the extinct Malagasy elephant birds than to the moa with which they shared New Zealand. There are five recognised species, two of which are vulnerable, one of which is endangered, and one of which is critically endangered. All species have negatively affected by historic deforestation but currently the remaining large areas of their forest habitat are well protected in reserves. At present, the greatest threat to their survival is predation by mammalian predators. The kiwi is a symbol of New Zealand, and the association is so strong that the term Kiwi is used internationally as the colloquial demonym for New Zealanders. The Māori language word kiwi is generally accepted to be of imitative origin from the call, with its long decurved bill and brown body, the curlew resembles the kiwi. So when the first Polynesian settlers arrived, they may have applied the word kiwi to the new-found bird, the genus name Apteryx is derived from Ancient Greek without wing, a-, without or not, pterux, wing. The name is usually uncapitalised, with the either the anglicised kiwis or, consistent with the Māori language. There are five species of kiwi, as well as a number of subspecies. Relationships in the genus Apteryx The largest species is the great spotted kiwi or Roroa, Apteryx haastii and it has grey-brown plumage with lighter bands. The female lays just one egg, which both parents then incubate, the population is estimated to be over 20,000, distributed through the more mountainous parts of northwest Nelson, the northern West Coast, and the Southern Alps. The small little spotted kiwi, Apteryx owenii is unable to withstand predation by introduced pigs, stoats and cats, about 1350 remain on Kapiti Island. It has been introduced to other islands and appears to be becoming established with about 50 Little Spots on each island. A docile bird the size of a bantam, it stands 25 cm high and she lays one egg, which is incubated by the male. Females lay as many as three eggs in a season, each one in a different nest, the distribution of these kiwi is limited to a small area on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The southern brown kiwi, Tokoeka, or Common kiwi, Apteryx australis, is a common species of kiwi, known from south and west parts of the South Island
Kiwi
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Kiwi
Kiwi
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Clockwise from left: brown kiwi (Apteryx australis), little spotted kiwi (Apteryx owenii) and great spotted kiwi (Apteryx haastii) at Auckland War Memorial Museum
Kiwi
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Detail of the bottom edge of a
kahu kiwi, showing the distinctive hair-like nature of the kiwi feathers.
Kiwi
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The kiwi on an 1898 New Zealand stamp
United States dollar
Euro
Japanese yen
Pound sterling
Australian dollar
Canadian dollar
Swiss franc
Renminbi
Swedish krona
New Zealand dollar
Mexican peso
Singapore dollar
Hong Kong dollar
Norwegian krone
South Korean won
Turkish lira
Russian ruble
Indian rupee
Brazilian real
South African rand
