The Tuvaluan dollar is one of the currencies of Tuvalu, whose unofficial international currency code is TVD. Tuvalu has never had banknotes of its own, and has been issuing coins since 1976. However, the Tuvaluan dollar is used as a unit of account, and is pegged to the Australian dollar (the other currency of Tuvalu) at parity. From 1966 to 1976, Tuvalu officially used the Australian dollar. In 1976, Tuvalu began issuing its own coins, which continue to circulate alongside Australian coins. Tuvalu continues to use Australian banknotes. Tuvaluan coins are not legal tender in Australia. Similar to the Faroese króna's relationship to the Danish krone and the Panamanian balboa's relationship to the United States dollar, the Tuvaluan dollar is not an independent currency, but a variation of the Australian dollar. Tuvalu does not have a monetary authority or central bank, and the National Bank of Tuvalu, the only bank in Tuvalu, performs some monetary functions for the government, including the holding of government accounts and foreign assets. Other currencies that had been used in Tuvalu have been the British pound sterling, prior to the introduction of the Australian dollar, as well as the US dollar, during the World War II American occupation of the islands. Gilbert and Ellice Islands banknotes had also been used in Tuvalu. These notes were cashier's cheques backed in pounds rather than an official, independent currency. The yen-backed Oceania pound was used in parts of the Gilberts (now Kiribati), but Japanese influence never actually reached the Ellice Chain (now Tuvalu). Coins In 1976, corresponding with its slated independence, Tuvalu's first coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cents and 1 dollar. The set, designed by John Donald features an aquatic theme. The bronze 1 and 2 cents and the cupro-nickel 5, 10 and 20 cents were the same size, weight, and composition as the corresponding Australian coins they were set to constitute. However, the cupro-nickel 50 cent piece was distinct from the dodecagonal (twelve-sided) Australian 50 cent coin in that it was round with plain edges. The nonagonal (nine-sided) cupro-nickel 1 dollar piece was unique not only by its odd shape but it also predated the Australian 1 dollar coin by eight years. It was also issued long before the trend toward larger denomination coins became much more widespread in many countries. The nine sides on the dollar are meant