1000 Vatu

Vanuatu's first banknote series, issued in 1982, replaced the New Hebrides franc just two years after independence from joint British-French colonial administration — one of the more unusual condominium arrangements in colonial history, where two powers ran parallel administrative, legal, and currency systems simultaneously on the same islands. The new vatu was introduced at parity with the franc CFP, a clean break in name if not in value.

Bradbury Wilkinson printed the series before their absorption into De La Rue in 1990. The P#3 is the highest denomination of the inaugural issue.