The pound was the currency of the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Territory of New Guinea The Territory of New Guinea was an Australian-administered United Nations trust territory on the island of New Guinea from 1914 until 1975. In 1949, the Territory and the Territory of Papua were established in an administrative union by the nam ...

between 1915 and 1966, and replaced the

New Guinean mark The Mark (German language, German plural: Mark, English language, English plural: marks) was the currency of the colony of German New Guinea between 1884 and 1911. It was equal to the German gold mark, German Mark, which was also legal tender in th ...

when Australia occupied the former

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

colony at the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The New Guinean pound was subdivided into 20

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...

s, each of 12

pence A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is th ...

, and was equal to the

Australian pound The pound ( Sign: £, £A for distinction) was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 14 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. As with other £sd currencies, it was subdivided into 20 shillings (denoted by the symbol ...

. No banknotes were ever issued; all denominations larger than one shilling were Australian currency. The

currency circulated alongside coins issued specifically for New Guinea between 1929 and 1945.http://en.numista.com/catalogue/nouvelle_guinee-1.html Numista New Guinean coins ceased to be produced in 1945. Between 1942 and 1945, the Oceanian pound circulated, issued by the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese occupiers. Australian coins and banknotes resumed circulation after the war and continued until the

Papua New Guinean kina The Kina (ISO 4217 currency code: ''PGK'', the currency symbol: ''K'') is the currency of Papua New Guinea. It is divided into 100 ''toea''. The name ''Kina'' is derived from Kuanua language of the Tolai region, referring to a callable pearl ...

, which was introduced on 19 April 1975, replaced the

Australian dollar The Australian dollar (sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of Australia, including its external territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is officially used as currency by three independent Pacific Island s ...

at par. The Australian dollar continued to be legal tender in PNG until 1 January 1976 when it was withdrawn.

Coins

In 1929, nickel halfpennies and pennies, as well as cupro-nickel pennies were introduced. These (as well as all subsequent New Guinean coins) were holed. The inscription on the

reverse Reverse or reversing may refer to: Arts and media * ''Reverse'' (Eldritch album), 2001 * ''Reverse'' (2009 film), a Polish comedy-drama film * ''Reverse'' (2019 film), an Iranian crime-drama film * ''Reverse'' (Morandi album), 2005 * ''Reverse'' ...

read: ''Georgius V. D G Rex et Ind. Imp.'', which translates from Latin as, " George the Fifth, by the Grace of God King and

Emperor of India Emperor or Empress of India was a title used by British monarchs from 1 May 1876 (with the Royal Titles Act 1876) to 22 June 1948, that was used to signify their rule over British India, as its imperial head of state. Royal Proclamation of 22 ...

". The inscription on the obverse reads ''Territory of New Guinea.'' These coins are extremely rare, as they were withdrawn shortly after being released. These coins were followed in 1935 by threepences, sixpences and shillings. The following year, pennies were minted depicting

King Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 1 ...

. That was relatively rare because Edward abdicated less than eleven months after succeeding to the throne, meaning that most

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

s and colonies which featured the British monarch on their currency had not yet redesigned their coins. Coins of varying denominations were minted under the reign of

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...

, beginning in 1938. In 1945, production of New Guinean coins ceased until

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

started circulating its own currency (

) in April 1975.

Gallery

File:1936 New Guinea Penny - Obverse.png, 1936 penny, obverse File:1936 New Guinea Penny - Reverse.png, 1936 penny, reverse File:Australian New Guinea 1936 Silver Shilling.jpg, 1936 shilling File:Permanent surver marker of Papua New Guinea.jpg,

Survey marker Survey markers, also called survey marks, survey monuments, or geodetic marks, are objects placed to mark key survey points on the Earth's surface. They are used in geodetic and land surveying. A ''benchmark'' is a type of survey marker that i ...

bearing the initials of the

Territory of Papua and New Guinea The Territory of Papua and New Guinea, officially the Administrative Union of the Territory of Papua and the Territory of New Guinea, was established by an administrative union between the Australian-administered territories of Papua and New G ...

and indicating a fine for interference denominated in New Guinean pounds.

References

External links

Online Coin Club / Coins from Territory of New Guinea
Currencies of the British Empire Currencies of the Commonwealth of Nations Currencies of Papua New Guinea Modern obsolete currencies Currencies of Asia Currencies of Oceania Currencies introduced in 1915 Territory of New Guinea Territory of Papua and New Guinea {{Australia-stub