Hoiho, hoiho, it’s raising cash we go
When is a $5 note worth more than $5?
When the Reserve Bank of New Zealand takes one straight off the printing press, frames it and couriers it to your doorstep.
Or at least that is what the Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust is banking on.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has given the trust one of the new series 7 $5 notes which are due to be released to the public on Monday, so it can be auctioned off to raise funds for ongoing penguin conservation projects.
Trust general manager Sue Murray was delighted with the donation.
''I think it's an awesome acknowledgement of the fact that the yellow-eyed penguin is still classed as an iconic New Zealand species, and would feature on something as prominent as a bank note.''
The hoiho (yellow-eyed penguin) is found on the Otago Peninsula, and has been a familiar sight on the back of the New Zealand $5 note since 1999.
The new $5 note is part of an upgrade of New Zealand's banknotes, intended to improve banknote security through technical advances.
About 345,000 new notes will be introduced to banks progressively, starting with the $5 and $10 notes on Monday. The $20, $50 and $100 notes are expected to be released next April.
Mrs Murray said the trust had not yet decided how it would auction off the framed note, but was investigating auctioning it online.
While she had absolutely no idea what the note was worth, she was certain it would go for more than $5.
''It's very hard to get a good condition $5 note because they are the most used.''
