The paʻanga is the currency of Tonga. It is controlled by the National Reserve Bank of Tonga (Tongan: Pangikē Pule Fakafonua ʻo Tonga) in Nukuʻalofa. The paʻanga is not convertible and is pegged to a basket of currencies comprising the Australian, New Zealand, and United States dollars and the Japanese yen.
The paʻanga is subdivided into 100 seniti. The ISO code is TOP, and the usual abbreviation is T$ (¢ for seniti). In Tonga, the paʻanga is often referred to in English as "dollar", the seniti as the "cent" and the hau as the "union". The unit of hau (equivalent of 100 paʻanga) is not used in everyday life and can be found only on commemorative coins of higher denominations.
Etymology
thumb|left|paʻanga bean
Paʻanga is the Tongan name for Entada phaseoloides, also called the box bean or St. Thomas's bean, a bean-like vine producing large pods with large reddish-brown seeds. The seeds are roundish, up to 5 cm diameter and 1 or 2 cm thick. When strung together they are used as anklets, part of the kailao dance costume. They were also used as playing pieces in an ancient disc-throwing game, lafo.
On 1 December 1806 Tongans attacked the passing ship Port-au-Prince near Lifuka in order to take it over. They failed, as the crew sank the vessel. The chief of Haʻapai, Fīnau ʻUlukālala, resorted to the next plan, to plunder whatever was worthwhile. On his inspection tour, he found the ship's cash. Not knowing what money was, he considered the coins as paʻanga. Finally, not seeing anything of value, he ordered the remains of the ship to be burned; most of the crew were also reported to be massacred. It was much later that William Mariner, the only survivor of this attack, told him that those pieces of metal were of great value and not merely playing stones. Mariner also passed down the following statement of Fīnau ʻUlukālala as he began to understand the value of these pieces to the European sailors:
Specifications and designs are:
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2"|Value
! rowspan="2"|Diameter
! rowspan="2"|Composition
! colspan="2"|1975–1979
! colspan="2"|1981
|-
!Obverse !!Reverse !! Obverse !! Reverse
|-
| 1 seniti
| 18 mm
|rowspan="2"| Bronze
| Maize || Pig
| Maize || Vanilla
|-
| 2 seniti
| 21 mm
| Marrows || PLANNED FAMILIES FOOD FOR ALL, six people holding hands
| Taro || PLANNED FAMILIES FOOD FOR ALL, six people holding hands
|-
| 5 seniti
| 19 mm
|rowspan="4"| Cupronickel
| Chicken with chicks || Bananas
| Chicken with chicks || Coconuts
|-
| 10 seniti
| 24 mm
| rowspan="3" | King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV || Grazing cattle
| rowspan="3" | King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV || Bananas on tree
|-
| 20 seniti
| 29 mm|| Bees and hive|| Yams
|-
| 50 seniti
| 32–33 mm|| Fishes around a vortex|| Tomatoes
|}
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2"|Value
! rowspan="2"|Diameter
! rowspan="2"|Composition
! colspan="2"|2015
|-
!Obverse !!Reverse
|-
| 5 seniti
| 17 mm
|rowspan="4"| Nickel-plated steel
| rowspan="4" | King Tupou VI || Heilala
|-
| 10 seniti
| 19 mm|| Malau
|-
| 20 seniti
| 21 mm|| Kalia
|-
| 50 seniti
| rowspan="2" | 24 mm|| Milolua
|-
| 1 paʻanga
| Aluminium bronze
| King George Tupou V || Coat of arms of Tonga
|}
The King is shown facing on the 10, 20, and 50 seniti, under the initials FAO.
Banknotes
In 1967, notes (bearing the portrait of Queen Sālote Tupou III) were introduced by the government in denominations of , 1, 2, 5 and 10 paʻanga. From 1974, the portrait of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV appeared on the notes. paʻanga notes were issued until 1983, with 20 paʻanga notes introduced in 1985, followed by 50 paʻanga in 1988. In 1992, the National Reserve Bank of Tonga took over production of paper money. On 30 July 2008, a new banknote series with greater security features was introduced featuring George Tupou V and a redesigned look. During this issue, a 100 paʻanga banknote was introduced for the first time.
The obverse of Tongan notes features text in the Tongan language and shows the portrait of the monarch. The reverse is in English language and shows typical motives and landmarks of Tonga: the Haʻamonga ʻa Maui Trilithon, a humpback whale, burial mounds, school students and rugby players, the royal palace, the Tongan Development Bank, the Port of Vavaʻu (twice, once depicted as it was around 1900, and the other in contemporary depiction), and ngatu making.
On 29 June 2015, the National Reserve Bank of Tonga introduced a new family of paʻanga banknotes in six denominations, from 2 to 100 paʻanga. Banknotes of 50 and 100 paʻanga are made of a paper/polymer hybrid substrate. They feature a portrait of the current king of Tonga, Tupou VI.
On 4 December 2023, the National Reserve Bank of Tonga introduced a new family of six banknotes to commemorate the birthday of George Tupou I.
See also
- Economy of Tonga