5000 Vatu

Vanuatu's currency, the vatu, was introduced in 1981 following independence from the Anglo-French condominium that had governed the New Hebrides since 1906 — one of the more administratively peculiar colonial arrangements in the Pacific, where British and French law operated simultaneously on the same territory. The Central Bank itself was established under the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu Act of 1980, and De La Rue handled the printing contract from the outset.

The P#4 is the highest denomination in the original independence-era series. At the time of issue, 5000 vatu represented a substantial sum in an economy heavily dependent on copra, beef, and emerging offshore financial services.