The pound was the currency of Tonga until 1967. It was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.
Initially, sterling circulated as the Tongan currencies, supplemented from 1921 by banknotes issued by the Tongan government. The notes were denominated in sterling and included the rather unusual denomination of 4 shillings. When the Australian pound devalued relative to sterling at the beginning of the Great Depression, this caused considerable confusion on the smaller islands of the British Western Pacific. In the mid-1930s, people in these islands were asking whether or not the money in their sterling accounts were to be considered as sterling or the Australian pound, and clarification was sought. In 1936, one Tongan pound was devalued to be worth 16 shillings sterling, setting the Tongan pound equal to the Australian pound. Existing banknotes had the word "sterling" overstamped, later issues omitted the word altogether. In 1967, the pound was replaced by the pa'anga at a rate of £1 = T$2.
In 1921, £5 notes were introduced, followed by notes for 4/– and 10/– and £1 in 1933. These four denominations were issued until 1966.
The Australian dollar is the official currency and legal tender of Australia, including all of its external territories, and three independent sovereign Pacific Island states: Kiribati, Nauru, and Tuvalu. In April 2022, it was the sixth most-traded currency in the foreign exchange market and as of Q4 2023 the seventh most-held reserve currency in global reserves.
The New Zealand dollar is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New Zealand, it is almost always abbreviated with the dollar sign ($). The abbreviations "$NZ" or "NZ$" are used when necessary to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies.
Sterling is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word pound is also used to refer to the British currency generally, often qualified in international contexts as the British pound or the pound sterling.
The cedi is the unit of currency of Ghana. It is the fourth historical and only current legal tender in the Republic of Ghana. One Cedi is divided into one hundred Pesewas (Gp).
The British West Indies dollar (BWI$) was the currency of British Guiana and the Eastern Caribbean territories of the British West Indies from 1949 to 1965, when it was largely replaced by the East Caribbean dollar, and was one of the currencies used in Jamaica from 1954 to 1964. The monetary policy of the currency was overseen by the British Caribbean Currency Board (BCCB). It was the official currency used by the West Indies Federation. The British West Indies dollar was never used in British Honduras, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas, or Bermuda.
The pound was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 14 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. Like other £sd currencies, it was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.
The paʻanga is the currency of Tonga. It is controlled by the National Reserve Bank of Tonga in Nukuʻalofa. The paʻanga is not convertible and is pegged to a basket of currencies comprising the Australian, New Zealand, and United States dollars and the Japanese yen.
The pound is the currency of Guernsey. Since 1921, Guernsey has been in currency union with the United Kingdom and the Guernsey pound is not a separate currency but is a local issue of sterling banknotes and coins, in a similar way to the banknotes issued in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland. It can be exchanged at par with other sterling coinage and notes.
The pound is the currency of Jersey. Jersey is in currency union with the United Kingdom, and the Jersey pound is not a separate currency but is an issue of banknotes and coins by the States of Jersey denominated in sterling, in a similar way to the banknotes issued in Scotland and Northern Ireland. It can be exchanged at par with other sterling coinage and notes.
The tālā is the currency of Samoa. It is divided into 100 sene. The terms tālā and sene are cognates of the English words dollar and cent in the Samoan language. Its symbol is $, or WS$ to distinguish it from other currencies named dollar.
The pound was the currency of New Zealand from 1933 until 1967, when it was replaced by the New Zealand dollar. Prior to this, New Zealand used the pound sterling since the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. Like the pound sterling, it was subdivided into 20 shillings each of 12 pence.
The pound was the currency of Southern Rhodesia from 1964 to 1965 and Rhodesia from 1965 until 1970. It was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.
The pound was the official currency of Jamaica between 1840 and 1969. It circulated as a mixture of sterling coinage and locally issued coins and banknotes and was always equal to the pound sterling. The Jamaican pound was also used in the Cayman and Turks and Caicos Islands.
The Kiribati dollar is one of the two official currencies of Kiribati. The Kiribati coins are pegged at 1:1 ratio to the Australian dollar, the other official currency of Kiribati. Kiribati coins were issued in 1979 and circulate alongside banknotes and coins of the Australian dollar. In present day, Kiribati coins are rare in comparison to Australian coins with the last minor emission made in 1992, and these old coins are now generally collectors items. The complete emissions of coins were made in 1979 and in 1989 for the tenth anniversary of independence.
The pound was the currency of the Bahamas until 1966. It was equivalent to the pound sterling and was divided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. Standard sterling coinage circulated. Apart from a Bahamas penny coin struck in 1806, there were no special coin issues such as were found in Jamaica.
The pound was the currency of Fiji between 1873 and 1969. It was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.
The pound was the currency of Western Samoa between 1914 and 1967. It was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence.
The pound was the currency of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate between 1899 and 1966. It was divided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. Initially, sterling coin circulated, supplemented by local banknotes from 1916. In 1920, Australian coins and banknotes were introduced, although local paper money continued to be produced until 1932. When the Australian pound broke its parity to the sterling in 1930 during the Great Depression, this caused uncertainty in the British territories of the Western Pacific regarding whether their pound unit was a sterling or an Australian pound. This uncertainty prevailed into the mid-1930s and was only resolved when the matter was clarified by King's regulations. The final result was that all the British territories apart from Fiji adopted the Australian unit. As such, the British Solomon Islands Protectorate followed the course of Australia.
Sterling was the currency of many, but not all parts of the British Empire. This article looks at the history of sterling in the Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific region.
Prior to European colonization, early Aboriginal Australian communities traded using items such as tools, food, ochres, shells, raw materials and stories, although there is no evidence of the use of currencies.
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