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 Queen of Papua New Guinea: Elizabeth II 6.2.1952 - present |  Governor General Sir John Guise 16.9.1975 - 1.3.1977 |  Prime Minister: Sir Michael T. Somare 16.9.1975 - 11.3.1980 |
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 P.1s 2 Kina ND(1975) Sig.1 AR |  Back | |||
 P.1 2 Kina ND(1975) Sig.1 DC |  Back | |||
 P.2s 5 Kina ND(1975) Sig.1 AR |  Back | |||
 P.2 5 Kina ND(1975) SIg.1 DC |  Back | |||
 P.3s 10 Kina ND(1975) Sig.1 AR |  Back | |||
 P.3 10 Kina ND(1975) Sig.1 DC |  Back | |||
 P.4S 20 Kina ND(1975) Sig.1 DC |  Back | |||
 P.4 20 Kina ND(1975) Sig.1 DC |  Back | |||
Papua New Guinea(PNG) issued is first series of banknotes after independence on 19 April 1975. The numbers on the issued notes with serial 000460 are from the first 500 of each denomination which were held back by the Reserve Bank. The Governor General and each member of Parliament were given a set, which, it is believed were spent. The remaining numbers up to 500 were issued at face value to anyone requesting them. The colors of P.1 through P.4 loosely resemble the colors of the Australian money, which circulated in PNG prior to independence. Other colors were considered, but rejected in consideration of the fact that most Papua New Guineans were uneducated and knew the banknote denominations mainly by color. There was actually a time lag of about a year between the issue of the first three denominations (which came out on the same day) and the K20 high value. Only after the first three denominations had been used for awhile did authorities recognize a higher value would be useful. The above Specimen banknote is considered a Papua New Guinea "Bank Specimen", which is different from a normal Reserve Bank Specimen. It is exactly like an issued banknote, except the serial number is all zeros. It does not have the word "Specimen" marked across the face or back. This type of specimen banknote was sent to each operating bank in Papua New Guinea to familiarize employees with a new issue or type of banknote before the issued notes were actually distributed. When the issued notes were distributed, the banks were supposed to return the zero-numbered specimens to the Reserve Bank. It is believed that few of them did. In fact, since these banknotes did not appear on the bank's register, most were probably spent. This type of specimen also exists for P.1 through P.3 although few sets are known to have survived. |
DC We gratefully acknowledge numismatist Don Cleveland NC We gratefully acknowledge Neville Cuthbert who provided images and background information used in this section. |
