Bank of PNG releases K100 note, 50 toea coin with APEC logo

Papua New Guinea Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer Charles Abel has released the new K100 note and 50 toea coin with the APEC logo.

Abel, who chaired the finance ministers’ meeting on Wednesday, said the release of the new notes and coins marked the important commemoration of PNG hosting APEC this year.

He said PNG launched the national currency, the kina and toea on April 19, 1975, before gaining independence on Sept 16.

Abel said the first paper notes issued then were the K2, K5 and K10 while the coins were 1t, 2t, 5t, 10t, 20t and K1.

“Due to the public inconvenience and the cost of minting, the 1t and 2t coins were decommissioned in June 2007 and June 2008,” he said.

“The largest size K1 was demonetised and replaced with a smaller sized coin. The K20 paper note was introduced in 1978 while the 50t coin was issued in 1980 to commemorate the South Pacific Festival of Arts.

“This was followed by the K50 note being introduced in 1989 and the K100 polymer note in 2006.”

Abel said as part of the effort to improve security features, PNG moved from paper notes to polymer notes in 1991.

It became one of the first countries, apart from Australia, to introduce polymer bank notes with advanced security features.

The country is also resizing its coins, and K50 and K20 notes to be consistent with the security features for public convenience.

“The kina bank notes are embedded with visible symbols of traditional values in unity, embracing our many different tribes and cultures with more than 800 languages and economic evolution and development of PNG,” Abel said.

“The PNG currency brings together its people of different cultures.

“The commemorative notes and coins are to mark the historical event of the hosting of the 2018 APEC meetings. To commemorate this event, the Bank of PNG is issuing a commemorative K100 bank note and a 50t coin.”

Abel said the bank note depicted an overprint design of the 2018 PNG APEC logo while the 50t coin had a logo also on one side of it.


SOURCE: THE NATIONAL/PACNEWS