History of Chatham Islands numismatics

In 1999 a private organization, the Chatham Islands Note Corporation, issued banknotes to celebrate the Chatham Islands being the first land to enter the third millennium. Banknotes such as these cannot be declared legal tender, there is no obligation for anyone to accept the notes issued by the Chatham Island Note Corporation in any transaction. These notes were reported to have been accepted by merchants on the Chatham Islands, some of whom served as directors of the issuer.

The Chatham Islands Note Corporation was initially based in Christchurch. The agent for providing the notes to the numismatic trade was Leon Morel, Fellow of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand of Melbourne, Victoria. The corporation later shifted their base of operations to Waitangi.

The face value of the notes were pegged at the same rate as the New Zealand dollar, and were unusual in that they included an $8 note.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand clarified that these notes are not legal tender. In particular, Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Murray Sherwin said:"These so-called Chatham Island dollars are harmless as a promotional gimmick and as a bit of fun. Also, if people want to use them to undertake transactions, that's fine too, just as one can pay for a service with monopoly play money, sea shells, or bottles of beer, if the seller is happy to receive them."

The series I notes, consisting of $2 (200c), $3 (300c), $10 (1,000c) and $15 (1,500c) denominations, and with a very strong influence from American currency designs, were printed in late 1999, still in time for their release on January 1, 2000. They were printed on Tyvek by Timely Marketing & Promotions Limited, Christchurch and Dunedin, New Zealand, and are dual-denominated—in cents as well as in dollars. The same-numbered sets which came out in cardboard folders, also bear a completely different hologram, as compared to the currency issue. There are three printings of this series

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