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The vatu ( abbreviation: VT;The Reserve Bank of Vanuatu.
Current Banknotes and Coins in Circulation
" Accessed 2 March 2013.
ISO code: VUV) is the currency of
Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
. The vatu has no subdivisions.


Etymology

The term ''vatu'', used in all three official languages of
Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...
, was borrowed from the word for "stone" in some indigenous languages (such as
Raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a musical mode, melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradit ...
''vatu''). Ultimately, it descends from
Proto-Oceanic Proto-Oceanic (abbr. ''POc'') is a proto-language that historical linguists since Otto Dempwolff have reconstructed as the hypothetical common ancestor of the Oceanic subgroup of the Austronesian language family. Proto-Oceanic is a descendant ...
''*patu'', from
Proto-Malayo-Polynesian Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (PMP) is the reconstructed ancestor of the Malayo-Polynesian languages, which is by far the largest branch (by current speakers) of the Austronesian language family. Proto-Malayo-Polynesian is ancestral to all Austronesi ...
and
Proto-Austronesian Proto-Austronesian (commonly abbreviated as PAN or PAn) is a proto-language. It is the reconstructed ancestor of the Austronesian languages, one of the world's major language families. Proto-Austronesian is assumed to have begun to diversify ...
''*batu'' of the same meaning.


Exchange rate


History

The vatu was introduced in 1981, one year after independence, to replace the
New Hebrides franc The franc was the currency of the Anglo-French Condominium of the Pacific island group of the New Hebrides (which became Vanuatu in 1980). It circulated alongside British and later Australian currency. The New Hebrides franc was nominally divide ...
at par. The vatu was issued as a single unit with no subdivision, with the 1 vatu coin being the smallest denomination issued, in a similar vein to the (post-1953)
Japanese yen The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market, after the United States dollar (US$) and the euro. It is also widely used as a third reserve currency after the US dollar and the ...
and the
Tajikistani rouble The ruble ( tg, рубл) was the currency of Tajikistan between 10 May 1995 and 29 October 2000. It was ostensibly subdivided into 100 '' tanga'', although no coins or banknotes were issued denominated in tanga. The currency was only issued as ...
(although that had an official if theoretical, subdivision). The ISO 4217 currency code for the Vanuatu vatu is VUV. Its nationally recognized symbol Vt is the most often used in written format. The vatu's introduction also saw the end of the official circulation of 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 Isl ...
in Vanuatu.


Coins

Vanuatu's first post-colonial coin was a 50 vatu coin introduced in 1981 and commemorated independence. It was struck in cupro-nickel like previous issues and was released into circulation, though originally its release was targeted more towards collectors. Shortly thereafter, in 1983, 1-, 2-, and 5, vatu coins were released in aluminium bronze and 10-, 20-, and 50-vatu coins were introduced in cupro-nickel, replacing the coinage of the New Hebrides Franc as the new circulation currency. This also replaced the Australian currency that was circulating in the British controlled islands. All Vanuatu coins depict the Vanuatu coat of arms, consisting of a native warrior in front of a whorled pig's tusk, a traditional item of value. The reverses depict other traditional items of value. Due to Vanuatu's French colonial history, the current vatu coins have the same size and coloration of the coins of New Hebrides which are based in part on French units, particularly the 1-, 2-, and 5 vatu in their similarity in size and composition to the 5, 10, and 20 centimes of the old
French Franc The franc (, ; sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money. It w ...
. The 10-, 20-, and 50 vatu bear some similarities to Australian coins but are actually slightly larger with closer approximate size to coins of similar valuation to those in
New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
, and French Polynesia. In 1988, a nickel-brass 100 vatu coin was introduced, this coin replaced the 100 vatu note. The coin is of the same size and general thickness of the British 1 pound coin. In 2011 the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu ceased to issue 1 and 2 vatu coins, which had become infrequently used due to inflation. The coins are still legal tender. Cash transactions in Vanuatu stores are now rounded to the nearest 5 vatu. As part of a coinage reform, new coins were minted in 2015 by the
Royal Australian Mint The Royal Australian Mint is the sole producer of all of Australia's circulating coins and is a Commonwealth Government entity operating within the portfolio of the Treasury. The Mint is situated in the Australian federal capital city of Canberr ...
. The older coins remained in circulation and legal tender. These coins are denominated 5-, 10-, 20-, 50-, and 100 vatu.


Banknotes

On 22 March 1982, notes were introduced by the Central bank of Vanuatu in denominations of 100-, 500-, and 1,000 vatu. These officially replaced franc notes of the former New Hebrides. In 1988 the 100 vatu note was withdrawn from circulation and replaced by a 100 vatu coin. In 1989, 5,000 vatu notes were introduced. In 1993, after a financial restructure, the
Reserve Bank of Vanuatu The Reserve Bank of Vanuatu is the central bank of Vanuatu (an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean). It was initially known as the Central Bank of Vanuatu after the nation's independence from France and the United Kingdom. The ban ...
took over paper money issuance and introduced newly designed notes for 500 and 1,000 vatu. 200-vatu notes were first introduced in 1995 to cut down on the amount of 100 vatu coins received in change and the need to meet demand by producing more. In 2011, new 5,000 vatu notes were also issued in polymer. Polymer 10,000 notes were issued as a commemorative issue on 28 July 2010. As of 2013, they are no longer in circulation. On 9 June 2014, the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu introduced a new series of notes printed on polymer, among the new series of notes is a new denomination of 2,000 vatu, in addition to regular 10,000 vatu notes.


Dollar

Local residents sometimes refer to a notional dollar, equal to 100 vatu, without specifying which country's currency they have in mind. This stems from the period 1966–1973, when the
New Hebrides franc The franc was the currency of the Anglo-French Condominium of the Pacific island group of the New Hebrides (which became Vanuatu in 1980). It circulated alongside British and later Australian currency. The New Hebrides franc was nominally divide ...
was pegged to 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 Isl ...
at a rate of 100 francs = 1 dollar. Although no relationship currently exists, it simplifies thinking in the larger numbers which a low-value unit causes. For example, the Government's budget of VT 6,000,000,000 is in fact only about US$50,000,000. The concept of this notional ''dollar'' was supported by the size of the former 100 vatu coin: at 23 mm, it was comparable to 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 Isl ...
(25 mm) and the
New Zealand dollar The New Zealand dollar ( mi, tāra o Aotearoa; sign: $, NZ$; code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within Ne ...
(23 mm) but the thickness is equivalent to the current British pound coin. It has now been replaced by a
scalloped Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve mollusks in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related families ...
version.


Pounds and shillings

In some Vanuatu languages, in which counting in large numbers is cumbersome and not well known, 10 vatu is colloquially referred to as "one shilling", and 200 vatu is referred to as "one pound". For example, in
Apma language Apma (or Abma) is the language of central Pentecost island in Vanuatu. Apma is an Oceanic language (a branch of the Austronesian language family). Within Vanuatu it sits between North Vanuatu and Central Vanuatu languages, and combines featur ...
, "50 vatu" would be ''selen kalim'' "five shillings".Gray 2013, ''The Languages of Pentecost Island'' This roughly reflects the historical exchange rate of the vatu against the pound, although since 2008 the number of vatu to the pound has been significantly lower than this.


Alternative currencies in Vanuatu

Many communities in Vanuatu continue to conduct ceremonial business such as the paying of fines and bride-prices using traditional items of value, such as pigs, curved boars' tusks and long dyed mats. Vatu is sometimes used as a substitute for traditional valuables in such ceremonies, although the National Council of Chiefs discourages this. The Tangbunia indigenous bank, based on Pentecost Island in Vanuatu, offers accounts and transfers denominated in
livatu The Livatu is a unit used by the Turaga indigenous movement and the Tangbunia Bank in Vanuatu to reckon the worth of items of traditional currency such as pigs and textiles. One livatu is equivalent to one fully curved boar's tusk, a symbolic item ...
, a unit of currency equivalent to the value of a fully curved boar's tusk.


See also

*
Economy of Vanuatu Vanuatu's economy is primarily agricultural; 80% of the population is engaged in agricultural activities that range from subsistence farming to smallholder farming of coconuts and other cash crops. Copra is by far the most important cash crop ...


References

* *


External links


Coins from Vanuatu
(Numista) {{Portal bar, Money, Numismatics, Oceania Currencies of the Commonwealth of Nations Currencies introduced in 1982 Economy of Vanuatu