Weekly Penguin

Weekly Penguin 467

More penguin money – and this time it's an in-use currency and not a collectible like the previously featured Australian Antarctic dollars. This is the New Zealand five-dollar note introduced last year as part of New Zealand's 'Brighter Money' series.

The star attraction of the bill for us is, obviously, 'Hoiho' or more commonly Yellow-eyed Penguin. In case you didn't know, these New Zealand natives are the rarest penguin in the world are considered endangered, so mad props to Reserve Bank of New Zealand for raising awareness of them in such a splashing way.

On the other side we have Sir Edmund Hillary, one of the most prominent explorers of all time. Among other things, Sir Hillary was the first person to not only reach both poles, but also the summit of Mount Everest.

I have to say, even if it weren't for the awesome theme of this particular bank note, these New Zealand dollars are beautiful. I've never seen such genius blend of art elements and security features, resulting in striking and elegant designs. I recommend you check out the official website of these new bank notes for full rundown of design elements and their meaning – it's an interesting read especially from art design perspective.

Added: 2016-07-19