Pa'anga
The pa'anga (or Tongan dollar) is the currency of the Kingdom of Tonga. It is controlled by National Reserve Bank of Tonga (Pangike Pule Fakafonua 'o Tonga) in Nuku'alofa. The pa'anga is not convertible and pegged to a basket of currencies comprising the Australian, New Zealand, and United States dollars and the Japanese yen.
One pa'anga equals one hundred seniti, the ISO code is TOP and the usual abbreviation is T$ (¢ for seniti). In Tonga the pa'anga is referred to in English just as dollar and the seniti as cent. There is also the unit of hau (1 hau = 100 pa'anga), but this is not used in every day life and can only be found on commemorative coins of higher denominations.
As of May 2005, €1 is equivalent to about T$2.41.
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Name and history
The name pa'anga derives from bean-shaped playing pieces. When the crew of the Port-au-Prince sank their ship in 1806 to prevent it from being taken by the attacking Tongans, Finau 'Ulukalala, chief of Ha'apai, could not find any valuables in the remains and decided to burn it down. It was later that William Mariner, the only survivor of this attack, told him that the pieces of metal resembling pa'anga were of great value.
When Tonga introduced decimal currency, it decided not to call the main unit the dollar because the native word, tola, translated into a pig's snout, the soft end of a coconut, or, in vulgar language, a mouth. Pa'anga, on the other hand, translated into money.
Mariner also passed down the following statement of Finau 'Ulukalala:
- 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 it will not spoil by being kept, people will store it up instead of sharing it out as a chief ought to do, and thus become selfish. [...] I understand now very well what it is that makes the papalangis [white men] so selfish — it is this money!
Bank notes
Bank notes come in denominations of one, two, five, ten, twenty and fifty pa'anga. The obverse is held in Tongan language and shows the portrait of King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV. The reverse is in English language and shows typical motive and landmarks of Tonga (for instance the Ha'amonga Maui Trilithon, the royal palace, the Tongan Development Bank and the Port of Vava'u).
Coins
Coins come in denominations of one, two, five, ten, twenty and fifty seniti. On the 50¢, 20¢ and 10¢ coins you can again find the king's image. On the 5¢ coin shows a hen with chicks, the 2¢ coin the symbol of the United Nations program for planned families and the 1¢ coin corn. On the reverse you can find a plant and the writing Fakalahi me'akai (Tongan, "More food"); these plants are in declining order: tomatoes, yams, banana, coconuts, taro and vanilla. A specialty is the dodecagonal 50¢ coin (all other coins are round).
Beneath the coins mentioned above there are also some old T$1,T$2 and T$3 coins circulating, but these are considered to be collector's item.
Pictures of the bank notes
Missing image 1_TOP_Obverse.jpg 1 Pa'anga front | Missing image 1_TOP_Reverse.jpg 1 Pa'anga back |
Missing image 2_TOP_Obverse.jpg 2 Pa'anga front | Missing image 2_TOP_Reverse.jpg 2 Pa'anga back |
Missing image 5_TOP_Obverse.jpg 5 Pa'anga front | Missing image 5_TOP_Reverse.jpg 5 Pa'anga back |
Missing image 10_TOP_Obverse.jpg 10 Pa'anga front | Missing image 10_TOP_Reverse.jpg 10 Pa'anga back |
External links