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| Solomon Islands Twenty Dollars Note |
Solomon Islands Banknotes 20 Dollars banknote 1981 Queen Elizabeth II
Solomon Islands Monetary Authority
Obverse: Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and sundry embellishments of Solomon Islands "custom" designs & artifacts: Carved Bonito fish and a warrior club. Dala Kapkap and a shield as a registration device (security feature).
Reverse: Warriors performing a traditional dance. Lave lave shield.
Watermark: Falcon landing.
Printer: Thomas De La Rue & Company Limited, London, England.
Solomon Islands Banknotes - Solomon Islands Paper Money
Solomon Islands Monetary Authority
1977-1981 "Queen Elizabeth II" Issue
2 Dollars 5 Dollars 10 Dollars 20 Dollars
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign country consisting of a large number of islands in Oceania lying to the east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu and covering a land area of 28,400 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi). The country's capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal. The country takes is name from the Solomon Islands archipelago, which is a collection of Melanesian islands that also includes the North Solomon Islands (part of Papua New Guinea), but excludes outlying islands, such as Rennell and Bellona, and the Santa Cruz Islands.
The islands have been inhabited for thousands of years. In 1568, the Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña was the first European to visit the Solomon Islands archipelago, naming it Islas Salomón ("Solomon Islands") after the wealthy biblical King Solomon. It is said that they were given this name in the mistaken assumption that they contained great riches. Britain defined its area of interest in the Solomon Islands archipelago in June 1893, when Captain Gibson R.N., of HMS Curacoa, declared the southern Solomon Islands as a British Protectorate with the proclamation of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate. During the Second World War, the Solomon Islands campaign (1942–1945) saw fierce fighting between the United States and the Empire of Japan, such as in the Battle of Guadalcanal.
The official name of the then British overseas territory was changed from "the British Solomon Islands Protectorate" to "Solomon Islands" in 1975. Self-government was achieved in 1976. Independence was obtained two years later. Today, Solomon Islands is a constitutional monarchy with the Queen of Solomon Islands, currently Queen Elizabeth II, as its head of state. Manasseh Sogavare is the current Prime Minister of Solomon Islands.
Monarchy of the Solomon Islands
The monarchy of Solomon Islands is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign of Solomon Islands. The present monarch of Solomon Islands is Queen Elizabeth II, who is also the Queen of a number of other Commonwealth realms.
The Queen's constitutional roles have been almost entirely delegated to the Governor-General of Solomon Islands. Royal succession is governed by the English Act of Settlement of 1701, which is part of constitutional law.
In Solomon Islands, the Queen's official title is: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Solomon Islands and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth.
Solomon Islands dollar
The Solomon Islands dollar is the currency of Solomon Islands since 1977. Its symbol is "SI$", but the "SI" prefix may be omitted if there is no confusion with other currencies also using the dollar sign "$". It is subdivided into 100 cents.
Prior to the Solomon Islands Dollar, Solomon Islands used the Australian pound sterling. However, the Solomon Islands had also issued its own banknotes, sometimes called the Solomon Islands pound.
When Solomon Islands fell under the control of Imperial Japan during the Second World War, the Oceanian pound, a so-called "Japanese Invasion Currency", became the official currency until after the war ended and the Pound was restored.
In 1966 the Australian dollar replaced the pound, and was circulated in the Solomon Islands until 1976, shortly before independence.
The Solomon Islands dollar was introduced in 1977, replacing the Australian dollar at par, following independence. Until 1979, the two dollars remained equal, then for five months the SI$ was pegged at SI$1.05 = A$1, and later floated. Economic stagnation ensued, so over the next 28 years, and especially during the civil war of 2000–2003, inflationary pressure reduced the Solomon Islands dollar to be worth 15 Australian cents.
In 2008, due to the low valuation in the currency, many Islanders took to hoarding coins and giving them to children as souvenirs, causing a coin shortage. Some more traditional monetary forms, such as dolphin teeth, have in a few areas taken the place of coins. A public awareness campaign was launched to encourage people to cash in excess coins at the bank to help alleviate the shortfall.
Solomon Islands Banknotes
On 24 October 1977 banknotes were introduced in denominations of 2, 5 and 10 dollars, with 20-dollar notes added on 24 October 1980. The first issues of banknotes depicted Queen Elizabeth II. However, all series issued later had the national crest instead. 50-dollar notes were introduced in 1986, followed by 100-dollar notes in 2006. A polymer two-dollar banknote was issued in 2001 to replace the cotton fibre issue, but the banknote reverted to cotton in the 2006 series.
The 2006 series also saw several new security features, including brighter background colours, a micro-printed holofoil on the 50- and 100-dollar notes, a tapered serial number, and a security thread woven through the note. On 26 September 2013 the Central Bank of the Solomon Islands issued a new 50-dollar note with hybrid security features by printers De La Rue, and announced it to be the first of a series of new banknotes over the course of five years as older notes wore out.
All of the notes depict scenes of traditional daily life and things that are culturally important in the islands, with each note pertaining to a particular theme.
All banknotes are issued by the Central Bank of Solomon Islands.
Coins
In 1977, coins were introduced in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 cents and 1 dollar. The cent coins were all the same sizes, weights, and compositions as the corresponding Australian coins, with the 1 dollar an equilaterally curved heptagonal (seven sided) coin minted in cupro-nickel. The reverse of each of the six original coins depicts the image of an item or symbol important to native culture, with the most notable being the 10 cent piece depicting Ngoreru, a local sea god from the Temoto region.
In 1985 bronze-plated steel replaced bronze in the 1 and 2 cents, with nickel-clad steel replacing cupro-nickel in the 20 cents in 1989, and the 5 and 10 cents in 1990. 1988 saw the introduction of 50-cent coins, which were dodecagonal (twelve-sided) and minted in cupro-nickel. The 1988 50-cent was a commemorative piece celebrating the tenth anniversary of independence. Later issues simply depict the national crest. Unlike the lower denominations, the 50-cent and 1 dollar continued to be minted in cupro-nickel rather than clad-steel up until their discontinuation.
With a high national inflation rate, the low-value 1 and 2-cent coins fell out of use, with prices rounded off to the nearest 5 cents instead.
Second coin series:
In 2012 new, smaller coins were introduced in denominations 10, 20, and 50 cents in nickel-plated steel and brass 1, and 2 dollar coins. The minting of the older coins had become too costly, with most of them being more expensive to produce than they were worth. Like the previous issue, these coins were minted by the Royal Australian Mint. The 2 dollar coin replaced the banknote while the 1, 2, and 5 cent coins were discontinued for having face value too low for production or practical use. Most notably, the 1 and 2 dollar coins have a close similarity to the 1 and 2 dollar coins of Australia being of nearly the same thickness, color, and circumference. The interrupted reeding on the edges are also identical to that of their Australian counterparts, however the metallurgical compositions and weights are slightly different and respective denominations are on the opposite sizes.
All the coins of Solomon Islands currently bear the portrait of the country's head of state, Elizabeth II, Queen of Solomon Islands.