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22
Privately Issued Fiat Currencies
Chatham Islands Notes
The Chatham Islands lie 800km east of Christchurch, and because of their
geographical location they are first to see the new day and were first to see in
the new millennium. To celebrate the event, Christchurch entrepreneur Clint
McInnes set up a private company called the Chatham Islands Note
Corporation, finding six shareholders (some of whom were Chatham Islanders)
to invest money in the scheme. On 1 January 2000, the company issued a set of
very attractive notes depicting island life.
The notes were issued in $2, $3, $5, $10 and $15 denominations and were
sold in collectors’ sets. The words ‘Chatham Islands New Zealand’ were
printed at the top, and ‘First to see the sun’ at the bottom. The design on the
front of the notes was rather like a US banknote, while the back resembled an
old NZ£5 note.
The images on the reverse were based on local history, the sea, the community
and the land of the Chatham Islands. Much to the delight of the locals, the
notes were well designed and accurately reflected life on the Chathams.
When designing the notes, Clint McInnes took advice from the Reserve
Bank of New Zealand. He was told not to use the words ‘currency’, ‘reserve’,
‘legal tender’ or ‘bank’, and so finally settled with the words: ‘This note is
negotiable tender on the Chatham Islands for the Millennium Year 2000’. All
the notes were numbered and each depicted an endangered seabird, the taiko.
The first limited­volume set of notes was printed on a very high­quality
polyethylene non­tear plastic manufactured in France, and included such
security features as a foil hologram, ultraviolet print and microlettering. As the
notes have high collectable appeal, a Melbourne agent sold them all over the
world. Since the currency was first issued, the Chatham Islands Note
Corporation has received letters, emails and faxes from France, Germany,
Brazil, Russia, Spain and the United States.
The Note Corporation’s lawyer advised it to make the notes redeemable
for New Zealand dollars and to make it clear that acceptance of them was
optional. So the company printed a plaque for participating merchants to
display in their shop or retail outlet setting out the rules of the currency.
The Note Corporation released the currency by selling the notes on a par
with the New Zealand dollar to the first participating merchants. But it soon
turned out to be more than a millennium gimmick for tourists and collectors. In
no time at all, the islanders began to use these beautiful notes as a means of
exchange as an alternative to the New Zealand dollar. Merchants and other
organisations started accepting the notes, including the pub, the general store,