French Pacific Territories banknotes 500 Pacific Francs banknote, New Hebrides.

French Polynesia - New Hebrides 500 CFP Pacific Francs banknote

 New Hebrides 500 Pacific Francs

Currency of French Polynesia - New Hebrides 500 CFP Pacific Francs banknote of 1970-1981, issued by the Institute for Emissions in the Overseas Departments (Institut d'Emission des Départements d'Outre-Mer) overprint "Nouvelles - Hebrides" in script letters.

Obverse: Portrait of Polynesian Fisherman at Marquesas Islands. Dugout canoe with sail at center. In background - Typical Polynesian landscape - seacoast.

Reverse: Portrait of Marquesan man. Volcanic Rock Formations at Hienghene. (Hienghène - commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean)

New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. Native people have inhabited the islands for thousands of years before the first Europeans arrived in 1606 from a Spanish expedition led by Pedro Fernandes de Queirós. The islands were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands. The two countries eventually signed an agreement making the islands an Anglo-French condominium, which lasted from 1906 until 1980, when the New Hebrides gained their independence as Vanuatu.

The Condominium divided the New Hebrides into two separate communities—one Anglophone and one Francophone. This divide continues even after independence, with schools either teaching in one language or the other, and between different political parties.

French Pacific Territories banknotes CFP 500 Pacific Francs banknote, New Caledonia Nouméa.

 New Caledonia currency 500 Francs banknote 

 Nouméa 500 Francs bank note 

Currency of New Caledonia Nouméa 500 CFP Pacific Francs banknote of 1969-1989, issued by the Institute for Emissions in the Overseas Departments (Institut d'Emission des Départements d'Outre-Mer) 

Obverse: Portrait of Polynesian Fisherman at Marquesas Islands. Dugout canoe with sail at center. In background - Typical Polynesian landscape - seacoast.
Reverse: Portrait of  Marquesan man. Volcanic Rock Formations at Hienghene. (Hienghène - commune in the North Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean)

New Caledonia (French: Nouvelle-Calédonie) is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, 1,210 kilometres (750 mi) east of Australia and 16,136 kilometres (10,026 mi) east of Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Chesterfield Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of Pines and a few remote islets. The Chesterfield Islands are in the Coral Sea. Locals refer to Grande Terre as "Le Caillou" ("the stone").
New Caledonia has a land area of 18,576 square kilometres (7,172 sq mi). The population (Jan. 2012 estimate) is 256,000. The population is a mix of Kanak people (the original inhabitants of New Caledonia), White European people (Caldoches and Metropolitan Frenchmen), Polynesian people (Wallisians essentially), and South-East Asian people. The capital of the territory is Nouméa.

French Polynesia bank notes 100 Pacific Francs banknote, New Hebrides.

 New Hebrides 100 Pacirfic Francs banknote 

 New Hebrides 100 CFP Pacirfic Francs banknote

Currency of French Polynesia - New Hebrides 100 CFP Pacific Francs banknote of 1970-1977, issued by the Institute for Emissions in the Overseas Departments (Institut d'Emission des Départements d'Outre-Mer) overprint "Nouvelles - Hebrides" in script letters.

Obverse: Tahitian girl wearing a wreath of tiare flowers and playing guitar. View of Airport and Port of Papeete (Tahiti) and Moorea Island with Sommet Tohiea.
Reverse: Portrait of Polynesian girl in flowers at left, bird's eye view of Papeete at center.

New Hebrides franc
The Franc was the currency of the Anglo-French Condominium of the Pacific island group of the New Hebrides (which became Vanuatu in 1980). It circulated alongside British and later Australian currency. The New Hebrides franc was nominally divided into 100 Centimes, although the smallest denomination was the 1 franc. Between 1945 and 1969, it was part of the CFP franc.

Until World War II, the New Hebrides used the French franc and the British pound and Australian pounds. In 1941, the Free French forces introduced paper money for circulation on the New Hebrides. In 1945, the CFP franc was introduced to insulate France's Pacific colonies from the devaluation of the French franc and the New Hebrides used a combination of New Caledonian franc coins and locally issued notes.
In 1949, the CFP franc's relationship to the French franc stabilized at 5.5 French francs = 1 CFP franc. From 1959, the exchange rate to the Australian pound was almost exactly 200 francs = 1 pound. This rate became 100 francs = 1 Australian dollar in 1966 when the dollar was introduced. The Australian dollar circulated alongside the local currency.
From 1966, coins were produced in the name of the New Hebrides. In 1969, the New Hebrides franc broke away from the CFP franc and maintained the relationship with the Australian dollar of 100 francs = 1 dollar until 1973. In 1982, the franc was replaced at par by the vatu following independence as Vanuatu. At the same time, the Australian dollar ceased to officially circulate.

Coins
In 1966, silver 100 franc coins were introduced. These were followed by nickel 10 and 20 francs in 1967, nickel-brass 1, 2 and 5 francs in 1970 and nickel 50 francs in 1972. Only the nickel coins (10, 20, and 50 francs) were the same size, composition, and obverse as the corresponding French Polynesian and New Caledonian coins.
The overall design has not changed since the introduction of the New Hebrides franc coins. The only notable change is the addition of "I.E.O.M" (Institut d'émission d'Outre-Mer) in 1973.

Banknotes
The first New Hebridean banknote was issued in 1921, a 25 franc note of the Comptoirs Français des Nouvelles Hébrides (French Trading Posts of the New Hebrides) dated 22 août (August) 1921. This is a very rare note. The New Hebrides began issuing banknotes again in 1941. These were overprints on New Caledonian banknotes (issued by the Banque de l'Indochine), in denominations of 5, 20, 100, 500 and 1000 francs. The same denominations were issued in 1943 by the Free French Services Nationaux Français des Nouvelles Hébrides.
In 1965, the Institut d'Emission d'Outre-Mer took over the issuance of paper money on the New Hebrides and introduced notes in denominations of 100, 500 and 1000 francs between 1965 and 1972. Unlike the French Polynesian and New Caledonian counterparts, New Hebrides never had a 5000 franc note.