private bank notes. Under the 1933 Reserve Bank Act the privately held gold was confiscated and paid for in RBNZ banknotes. In all cases, the currency's value to collectors is now far higher than its face value, due to its rarity. A prime example is a first issue Union Bank £1 from the 1840s returned to New Zealand in 1934, for redemption at face value, by its owner in the United States. Today a similar note would be valued in excess of £10,000 sterling. £NZ.50 notes of the Reserve Bank are also extremely rare and fetch a high price from collectors. The note signed by Chief Cashier T. P. Hanna in uncirculated condition could fetch as high as $NZ.25,000 according to the premier value listing for New Zealand notes and coins (some other lesser valued notes signed by Hanna exist). Notes References Hawke, G.R., "The Making of New Zealand: an Economic History" (1985) Grant. Anthony W., "Premier: the New Zealand Coin and Banknote Catalogue" 2011 External links New Zealand coins price guide and values (pre-decimal coins) Coins from New Zealand – Online Coin Club History of New Zealand Modern obsolete currencies Currencies of the British Empire Currencies of the Commonwealth of Nations Currencies of New Zealand Currencies with multiple banknote issuers 1840 establishments in New Zealand 1967 disestablishments in New Zealand Colony of New Zealand Currencies of the Cook Islands