Papua New Guinea, in the southwestern Pacific, encompasses the eastern half of New Guinea and its offshore islands. A country of immense cultural and biological diversity, it’s known for its beaches and coral reefs. Inland are active volcanoes, Granite Mt. Wilhelm, dense rainforest and hiking routes like the Kokoda Trail. There are also traditional tribal villages, many with their own languages.

Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, including mineral and renewable resources, such as forests, marine, and in some parts agriculture. The kina is the official currency of Papua New Guinea and is divided into 100 Toea. The kina was introduced on 19 April 1975 and circulated along with the Australian dollar until 1 January 1976, when the dollar ceased to be legal tender.

On 19 April 1975, notes were introduced for 2, 5 and 10 kina that replaced the Australian dollar at par, so the colour scheme was the same. Today, we are looking at a 50 Kina banknote issued in the year 2002. The note specifications are as follows:

The obverse depicts the Bird of Paradise - National Crest; and the National Parliament. The reverse features the cultural aspects of the country. The portrait of Sir Michael Somare is surrounded by a variety of Headdress and masks from the: Bainings (East New Britain); The Orokolo (Gulf Province); The Huli (Southern Highlands Province); The Tubuan (East New Britain Province); A West Sepik and a Malagan Mask (New Ireland Province); Other features include Karkar spears and artists interpretations of Tapa from the Oro Province; and Central (Mekeo) and Morobe (Siassi) Provinces.

Image Courtesy: PicClick