1934 New Zealand Lefeaux Serial Number 1 One Pound

Soon after the newly formed Reserve Bank of New Zealand was established on 1 August 1934, this note was discovered in c.1935 after being spent at the Alexandria Hotel as payment for a room. Realising its significance, the proprietors framed it on a wall, and it remained in the family for several decades. 

Specimen Details:

Printed by Thomas de la Rue and Co. Ltd in mauve purple. Portrait of King Tāwhiao, the second Māori king by Gottfried Lindauer, illustration of a Kiwi by John Gerrard Keulemans, and the Coat of Arms of New Zealand. On the back is a vignette of Mitre Peak in Milford Sound, New Zealand. 

Credit Line: Aventine Coins & Bullion, private treaty. Featured in a Spink and Son promotional material alongside 1934 New Zealand Ten Shillings Serial No. 1.