Australasia & Oceania

Tonga ½ pa'anga P18c Dark brown and pale pink Portrait of King Taufa'ahau at r, coat of arms at lower l/Brown and blue Coconut workers at l Unc

Vanuatu 200 vatu P14 printed on polymer plastic I Pink Melanesian man standing/Seated family group Unc

Vanuatu has completed the transition from issuing its banknotes in paper and now uses polymer plastic. We offer here Uncirculated examples of the plastic 500 vatu issued in 2017 (P-New). The mauve polymer plastic 500 vatu is mauve and slightly reduced in size over the paper version. The same Melanesian man in on the front and a group of dancing boys on the back while another draws in the sand. Limited availability.

We offer Crisp Uncirculated examples of the 500 vatu in 1993.(P5) From 1906 this Pacific Island nation was jointly managed as the New Hebrides as an Anglo-French condominium until its independence in 1980. A Melanesian man appears to the right on the front. The back shows carved figures and a man in traditional dress beats a drum carved from a whole tree. Crisp Uncirculated.

In 1963, Western Samoa issued a £5 note, the highest denomination at the time (P15). These Western Samoa £5 notes are not from the original printing of 60 years ago. Instead they are part of an official reprinted issue, authorized by the Western Samoa Government in 2020. They are a faithful rendition of the original issue but can be distinguished by the prefixes which run from S-V. The 1963 issue had no prefix. Our examples are in Uncirculated and certainly won’t cost you hundreds of pounds.