Fiji Currency History

Hello Fellow Numismatists,

As I am the only one from Fiji in the group I thought I should share some background on Fiji's currency history to get us all excited and interested in the Fijian coins and notes.

I will be posting series of facts over the next few days on this and hope we all will enjoy and learn something interesting.

Exchange in the early 19th Century

Before European traders and sailors came to Fiji, bartering between different tribes formed the foundation of Fijian commerce.At first European traders used barter trading iron implements, muskets, gun powder, steel blades, scissors, tobacco and liquor in return for sandalwood and beche-de-mer. Barter came to an end with increasing European settlement and associated introduction of western ideas of financial and economic organisation and management. From as early as the 1860s, paper money and coins made their appearance in what was described as a ‘bewildering potpourri of currencies and notes’.

These included British sovereigns, American and Mexican dollars, Bolivian half dollars, French francs, Russian roubles, Turkish gold coins and mohurs from India.These various forms of currency including those privately issued by commercial banks operating in Fiji at the time were accepted as mediums of exchange and were circulated and passed over shop counters daily.A vital attribute of currency is credibility and acceptability.

This acceptance is derived from the credibility and financial standing of the issuer of the currency, in most cases the sovereign or the Government of a country. In monetary jargon, this is called ‘backing’ for the currency. Attempts by the Ratu Cakobau Government to issue currency was reportedly rejected as being of suspect value. Members of the public were not convinced the Government had the gold and silver to back up the currency. In 1874,Britain agreed to take over the responsibility for the governance of Fiji. With the establishment of a new form of Government, drawing on the British experience, Fiji’s monetary affairs began to assume a degree of soundness.

Hope we had a fun read. More in the days ahead.

Happy swaping and collecting.

Best,
Iftikar Khan (Fiji Islands)

Thank you for the interesting article!

Glad you enjoyed the read. Thanks and have fun collecting.

Can you research and verify these Fiji threads for us?

https://en.numista.com/forum/topic79046.html
"Fiji is listed as having had coins for 1 Cent & 2 Cents dated 2002, 2003, 2004, & 2005. These should be indicated as Reported, but not confirmed. I have NEVER seen photos, let alone, examples of those coins with those dates. The same thing applies to the Fijian small type 2 Dollars - 2012 has been confirmed, but 2013 & 2014 have been reported, but not confirmed. Again, I have never seen photos of those dates for that coin either. Fiji has a large type 2 Dollars dated 2014, which was put into circulation to replace the small type 2 Dollars, due to complaints that visually impaired people could not tell the difference between the 1 Dollar & the 2 Dollars by touch alone."

https://en.numista.com/forum/topic48648.html
"Despite what catalogues say, there are NO 1 Cent or 2 Cents from Fiji dated 2002, 2003, 2004, or 2005. There is also NO 2 Dollars dated 2013 or a small type 2 Dollars dated 2014."

Both statements are from BCNumismatics in New Zealand, and I believe them to be correct. It would be great if we could get a response from the monetary authority in Fiji on the matter.

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces42681.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces2952.html
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces2609.html

Welcome to Numista "IftikarKhan" & thanks for sharing the interesting article about your country's currency. I look forward to more.

I only started collecting world currency in 2018 & took my time to catch on to what nations I would focus on. I realized immediately that Commonwealth nations (including Fiji) were a "no brainer." So, I bought a few 2000 & 2002 $2 notes and then forgot all about them.

P-102 (2000 Commemorative)


P-104 2002 regular issue

I only wish I bought more since I started seeing them again & all their prices had gone up in 2 short years! They're very popular.

That is great.

How much did pay for the notes?

They are hard to find now in Fiji.

Verweis : "IftikarKhan"​That is great.
​
​How much did pay for the notes?
​
​They are hard to find now in Fiji.

​I'm sorry but I don't recall as it was 3 years ago (in 2018) when I first started collecting world notes. I only wish I had bought more (& older series from Fiji). I really like the designs of the first & second QEII series which I have yet to acquire. It's a goal of mine (to fill that gap).

Verweis : "gyoschak"​Can you research and verify these Fiji threads for us?
​
​https://en.numista.com/forum/topic79046.html
​"Fiji is listed as having had coins for 1 Cent & 2 Cents dated 2002, 2003, 2004, & 2005. These should be indicated as Reported, but not confirmed. I have NEVER seen photos, let alone, examples of those coins with those dates. The same thing applies to the Fijian small type 2 Dollars - 2012 has been confirmed, but 2013 & 2014 have been reported, but not confirmed. Again, I have never seen photos of those dates for that coin either. Fiji has a large type 2 Dollars dated 2014, which was put into circulation to replace the small type 2 Dollars, due to complaints that visually impaired people could not tell the difference between the 1 Dollar & the 2 Dollars by touch alone."
​
​https://en.numista.com/forum/topic48648.html
​"Despite what catalogues say, there are NO 1 Cent or 2 Cents from Fiji dated 2002, 2003, 2004, or 2005. There is also NO 2 Dollars dated 2013 or a small type 2 Dollars dated 2014."
​
​Both statements are from BCNumismatics in New Zealand, and I believe them to be correct. It would be great if we could get a response from the monetary authority in Fiji on the matter.
​
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces42681.html
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces2952.html
​https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces2609.html

​

My comments on this are still valid today as back in 2020 regarding these.

Aidan.

I suggest you look at my notes on the Fiji page.

Also did a big thread on Coin Community Family.

I have 90% of all the Predecimal and Decimal dates issued plus a comprehensive set of notes.

Some samples

Some coins







etc

It's interesting to note that Fiji left the Commonwealth on 1987 but the Elizabeth II portrait was still on coins afterwards. Fiji rejoined the Commonwealth on 1997. Her portrait disepeared on coins after the 2009 Fijian constitutional crisis (nice designs of coins were introduced at that time) . And I remember that Fiji was excluded from the Commonwealth and Commonwealth Games. Fiji was reincorporated on 2014.

Verweis : "Frenchlover"​It's interesting to note that Fiji left the Commonwealth on 1987 but the Elizabeth II portrait was still on coins afterwards. Fiji rejoined the Commonwealth on 1997. Her portrait disepeared on coins after the 2009 Fijian constitutional crisis (nice designs of coins were introduced at that time) . And I remember that Fiji was excluded from the Commonwealth and Commonwealth Games. Fiji was reincorporated on 2014.

​
Fiji still had coins dated 2010, which depicts Queen Elizabeth II's portrait - & all Fijian coins dated 2009 & later are in circulation (except for the 2012 2 Dollars), along with the 1995-2000 1 Dollar coins.

Fiji was only suspended from the Commonwealth until 2014, not outside it, as Fiji was still a Commonwealth member state.

The ban from the 2010 Commonwealth Games was purely political - & punished Fiji's athletes for the authoritarian actions of Frank Bainimarama.

Aidan.

Also many Commonwealth states do not have to display the British monarch on all their currency. It is their choice to. I expect a rash of quittings (Like Barbados) when Queen Elizabeth II dies, because Charles and most of the younger royals are unpopular. This will more likely be the states led by non Europeans than Europeans (NZ and Canada should remain loyal depsite a current left wing government in both of them, Australia seems shaky though) and states led by Black and Brown leaders will be mixed in their loyalty.

Fiji had 4 authoritarian coups between 1987 and 2010 and all of them ended nicely with the coup leader becoming a democratically elected one.

Aidan is exactly right about 2012 $2 pieces, the coin released then was smaller and more round than today's one and it was easily confused by the elderly blind with the $1 coin. In 2014 it was made slightly larger and heavier with "Spanish flower" edges.


The older coin is 26.0mm round, has 11 incised edges and weights 6.2grams.
The $1 is 23.5mm, weighs 5.0grams

The new $2 coin is 7.8grams and 27.1mm and also 7 sided spanish flower milling)



10 cent coins of Fiji old and new. The main changes were the Maklouf portrait added in 1986 and the change in 1990 to stainless steel from Cupronickel. As you can see nothing changed until 2009 when the size was reduced and in 2012 when the Queen disappeared. All coins up to and including 2010 had the Royal Portrait on their back.

Coins were not issued every year and none were issued in 1970 -72, 1983 - 84, 1988 - 89, 1991, 1993, 2002, 2004 - 05 and 2007 -08, 2015 - 16, 2018 - 19,

No coins for circulation were issued in Fiji in 1983 or 1984, but sets were minted (5k and 3k for 83/84) and I managed to get a pair off an Australian Friend!


Minted in Singapore, I think they are great and scarce. I mean a 1983 50 cent piece!

Numista for some reason says there were 3 and 5 million minted of each coin in these years!
The other big change was the Reserve Bank of Fiji came into existence in 1984, before then it was the Treasury and the Commissioners of Currency!