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5 Pounds Bank of New Zealand
| Issuer | Bank of New Zealand |
|---|---|
| Year | 1862 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | The Royal Arms vignette is centered at the top, flanked by the bank title in ornate script lettering reading 'Bank of New Zealand' and denomination counters reading 'FIVE' at the upper left and right corners, each surrounded by lathe-work rosettes. The central body carries a guilloche-patterned panel with the promise-to-pay text in italic script, with 'FIVE POUNDS' in bold letterpress, and a blank date line for manuscript completion. The lower border bears the statutory inscription 'By Act of the General Assembly' in scroll lettering, with signature lines for Manager and Accountant at lower right, and a 'SPECIMEN' overprint; the imprint 'Perkins Bacon & Co London Patent Hardened Steel Plate' appears in small type at the bottom margin. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | INCORPORATED FIVE FIVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND ON DEMAND WE PROMISE TO PAY TO THE BEARER FIVE POUNDS STERLING DAY OF 18 FOR THE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND MANAGER ACCOUNTANT SPECIMEN BY ACT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| Comments |
The Bank of New Zealand was incorporated by Act of the New Zealand General Assembly in 1861 and opened for business the following year, making this 5 Pounds note among the earliest issues of what would become the country's dominant commercial bank for most of the nineteenth century. Perkins, Bacon & Petch had by this point long refined the security printing techniques — particularly siderographic transfer engraving — that made their banknote work difficult to counterfeit and visually consistent across colonial issues worldwide.
New Zealand had no central bank and no uniform currency legislation in 1862; private banks issued their own notes freely, and public confidence depended heavily on the issuing bank's perceived solvency. The BNZ survived several colonial banking crises that claimed competitors, but required government intervention as late as 1895.