On Friday, December 1, 2023, the National Reserve Bank of Tonga (NRBT) announced that on Monday, December 4th, commemorating the birthday of King Tupou I, a new series of banknotes will be issued in the denominations of $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100.
The denominations of 5 and 10 paʻanga will be printed on polymer, the others on paper. The Governor of the National Reserve Bank of Tonga (NRBT), Tatafu Moeaki, and His Royal Highness Prince Ata, the younger son of King Tupou VI, unveiled and launched the new series on December 4, 2023 at the Fa’onelua Convention Centre in Nuku’alofa.
All of the banknotes in the new series prominently portray His Majesty King Tupou VI (‘Aho‘eitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho) on the front, who acceded to the throne in March 2012. Born in 1959, he is the younger brother and successor of the late King George Tupou V (1948-2012). He was officially confirmed by his brother on in September 2006 as the heir presumptive to the Throne of Tonga, as his brother (a bachelor) had no legitimate children.
The designs of reverse sides of the new series offer vibrant reflections of the Kingdom's rich culture, history, and aspirations. Each denomination encapsulates a profound narrative, celebrating Tonga's heritage and envisioning a promising future.
The new polymer 5-paʻanga banknote captures the enigma of the ancient Ha’amonga ‘a Maui Trilithon, an intriguing mystery in the Pacific's culture. Haʻamonga ʻa Maui ("The Burden of Maui") is a stone trilithon located in Tonga on the eastern part of the island of Tongatapu in the village of Niutōua, in Heketā. Three megalithic limestone stones form the 5.2-meter-high gate. Archeologists believe that this gate was built at the beginning of the 13th century by King Tuʻitātui in honor of his two sons, and that it led to the royal palace. The monument is sometimes called the "Stonehenge of the Pacific."
The spotlight of the new polymer 10-paʻanga banknote is on Her Royal Highness Princess Angelika Lātūfuipeka Tukuʻaho (born 1983), gracefully performing the Kava Ceremony Milolua showcasing the kava ceremony for future generations. The princess is a Tongan royal and a member of the House of Tupou. Sole daughter of Tupou VI, King of Tonga, Princess Lātūfuipeka became the High Commissioner of Tonga to Australia in August 2012, after her father – High Commissioner until then – succeeded as the King of Tonga. Tongan kava ceremonies play an integral part of Tongan society and governance. They strengthen cultural values and principles, while solidifying traditional ideals of duty and reciprocity, reaffirming societal structures, and entrenching the practice of pukepuke fonua, or tightly holding on to the land, a Tongan cultural ideal to maintain, preserve, and live traditional Tongan culture.
Each denomination in this series is distinguished by a range of security features developed by De La Rue, to ensure the highest standards of anti-counterfeiting measures.
