The paanga is the currency of Tonga. It is controlled by the National Reserve Bank of Tonga (Pangikē Pule Fakafonua o Tonga) in Nukualofa. The paanga 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 paanga is subdivided into 100 seniti. The ISO code is TOP, and the usual abbreviation is T$ (¢ for seniti). In Tonga, the paanga is often referred to in English as the dollar, the seniti as the cent and the hau as the union. There is also the unit of hau (1 hau = 100 paanga), but this is not used in everyday life and can be found only on commemorative coins of higher denominations. Etymology Paanga is the Tongan name for Entada phaseoloides, also called the box bean or St. Thomas's bean, a bean-like vine producing large pods with large reddish-brown seeds. The seeds are roundish, up to 5 cm diameter and 1 or 2 cm thick. When strung together they are used as anklets, part of the kailao dance costume. They were also used as playing pieces in an ancient disc-throwing game, lafo. On 1 December 1806 Tongans attacked the passing ship Port-au-Prince near Lifuka in order to take it over. They failed, as the crew sank the vessel. The chief of Haapai, Fīnau Ulukālala, resorted to the next plan, to plunder whatever was worthwhile. On his inspection tour, he found the ship's cash. Not knowing what money was, he considered the coins as paanga. Finally, not seeing anything of value, he ordered the remains of the ship to be burned; most of the crew were also reported to be massacred. It was much later that William Mariner, the only survivor of this attack, told him that those pieces of metal were of great value and not merely playing stones. Mariner also passed down the following statement of Fīnau Ulukālala as he began to understand the value of these pieces to the European sailors: If money were made of iron and could be converted into knives, axes and chisels there would be some sense in placing a value on it; but as it is, I see none. If a man has more yams than he wants, let him exchange some of them away for pork. [...] Certainly money is much handier and more convenient but then, as