WELCOME ADDRESS BY GOVERNOR OF THE RESERVE BANK OF FIJI, BARRY
WHITESIDE, AT THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH AND UNVEILING OF FIJI RUGBY 7s
COMMEMORATIVE BANKNOTE AND COIN
Grand Pacific Hotel, Suva, 20th April, 2017
Salutations
Hon. Prime Minister
Hon. Ministers, Hon. Speaker and Members of the Parliament
The Tui Suva
Chief Justice
Board Directors of the Reserve Bank of Fiji
Ben Ryan, Osea Kolinisau and Members of our Olympics Gold Medal Winning Team
Distinguished Guests
Reserve Bank of Fiji colleagues
Ladies and Gentlemen
Introduction and Welcome
Bula vinaka and a very good evening to you all on this very special occasion! An occasion when
we once again come together to relive a truly great moment in our small nation's history and
thank those special people who brought us so much joy through their tremendous feat in Rio
I must also say a special warm welcome "home" to Ben!
back in August last year. We were so
pleased when you accepted our invitation.
Gareth Baber and our current 7's gladiators, who
It would be remiss of me not to recognise
reminded us just how good we are by demolishing South Africa in Hong Kong just 12 days ago!
Despite the slight hiccup against a very focused USA team last weekend in Singapore, you
continue to spread the joy across our nation and we thank you.
Honoring the Gold Medal Win
Ladies and Gentlemen, even before the Olympic Games we at the Reserve Bank were excited
about our medal chances. Some of us came up short of saying it would be gold, but we were
quietly confident it would be so.
So we were already thinking how we could honor such a feat by our team. As a central bank the
only way we could think of, apart from taking money from our vault and handing it to the
players (which would land us all in gaol!), was to honor them on our currency. You will recall
we did this in celebrating Iliesa Delana's great win in the F42 High Jump event and our first
Para-Olympic gold medal in London back in 2012. So when the Rio Rugby 7s title became ours,
the deal was sealed and we put in train the processes which led us to today's event!
Many may ask why so late? This is nearly nine months after Rio. I would like to say even
though this may be the case, the euphoria still has not died down, at least not in my mind. I also
remind us all that we are Olympic champions until Japan in 2020. No but really, the delays are
technical and we would certainly have loved to complete this task much sooner. But please
allow me to explain a little.
Once the go ahead was given by our Board then the complexities began, firstly in the design
process and then the actual production. Within the design stage we needed to get a consensus of
-
what or whom to feature not an easy task when we all have personal favorites in mind, and
especially when people are going to be featured. Once this is done then we need actual pictures
and approvals to use those pictures. Sometimes we need to negotiate royalty payments. At this
point I would like to thank Bruce Southwick for some really great pictures and ideas and for
joining us in the spirit of celebration by holding back on his charges!
Ladies and Gentlemen these pictures are then translated by the mint or note printer onto moulds
or first cuts and we go back and forth until satisfied that we have what we want. All the while
we are trying to keep the designs a secret, something which in Fiji is extremely difficult to do as
you well know! While media speculation has been active, I have to say that the majority of our
Reserve Bank staff still do not know what the final products look like. I also personally think a
degree of secrecy makes this event more exciting.
So once the designs are signed off we move along to the production process, with the mint and
note printer having to acquire the right material and the slotting in of actual production times
alongside all the other jobs they may have. From our past experience this process can easily take
-
between 12 and 18 months so I think we have done ok with our time frame and we have the
Royal Canadian Mint and Oberthur Fiduciaire to thank for working so closely with us. I must say
both companies came to our "party" and were so enthusiastic to be doing the job.
So today we honor our Rugby 7s Gold Olympians by delivering what we trust will be an iconic
banknote and coin that we hope will be loved by all Fijians, young and old alike, whether they
are here in Fiji or abroad. But not only by Fijians, but also by people who love sports, who love
collecting banknotes and coins and those who have Fiji at heart.
Fijian Currency and our Commemorative Note and Coin
Ladies and Gentlemen, Fiji has in the recent past modernised its currency in very unique ways.
In 2012, we introduced our flora and fauna design banknotes and coins replacing the long-
serving portrait designs. Each banknote and coin now has its own distinctive designs on the
obverse (front) and the reverse (back). This is indeed very unique if you were to compare other
currencies of the world where portraits are still in vogue.
In the collectors market, Fiji coins have their own emblem - the Fijian Coat of Arms - which is
now internationally recognised. Today will mark another unique achievement for our currency;
let the "cat out of
something which no other country in the world has done. However I will not
the bag" just
yet.
At this point, and without revealing all, I would like to give you a little background of our new
note and coin.
Many will recall that soon after the gold medal win in Rio, the Reserve Bank had announced that
a coloured (or painted) circulation coin would be released in limited quantities commemorating
this first ever achievement for us. We were happy, and with the euphoria anything was possible
at that time. Also I might reveal that, over the past few years, issuing a coloured coin has been
very much on our minds. We were looking for the opportune time to have our first ever painted
circulation coin and it came in Rio! Designs were selected for both the obverse and reverse,
quantities decided, productions slots locked in and many reviews of the designs undertaken along
with the appropriate colours (one of them being red! I wonder why?).
began to "bite" us and we were told
Unfortunately technological limitations that only one side of
the coin could be painted. Our wish, of course, was to have both sides painted. We even
explored painting equal quantities of each side of the coin. But despite our best efforts, it was
not to be and we were advised that there was high possibility that the paint would come off the
coins with constant circulation. We wanted to deliver to the people of Fiji a coin that would
keep them proudly reminiscing of our victory in Rio and I must apologise that this earlier
promise of a painted coin will not come to fruition at this time.
So we were then compelled to re-think this pledge. Rather than totally forsaking the project, we
decided to have at least something for everyone at the lowest cost possible - something that our
children could get their hands on and hold on to. For that reason, we had to temper our wishes
and settle to issue non-painted coins in the same elegant designs that were earlier selected. I
acknowledge that many would be disappointed at not having the painted coin, like we ourselves
are. However, I hope what will be unveiled today will be to the liking of all Fijians.
Ladies and Gentlemen, an iconic banknote denomination will also be unveiled today,
synonymous with the abbreviated code of rugby, a sport that is loved by all Fijians, a sport that
we excel in and a sport that unites us. You will witness the unveiling of a denomination that
would not only be a first for Fiji but one, which we have on good authority, will be the only note
of its kind in the entire world. Not only will this be an iconic banknote denomination, the
designs, the orientation and the layout of the banknote are also different. Traditionally, we have
always had horizontal note designs on both the obverse and reverse. We are now breaking away
from this tradition.
For the first time, we will have a note which will be vertically orientated, complementing the
design and theme chosen on the obverse. The reverse will continue to be horizontally oriented,
again complementing the design. This has been carefully thought out, ensuring there is synergy
between the obverse and reverse.
We Fijians love to do things differently in our little paradise. After all, being the Rugby 7s
Olympic Champions, things have to be a little bit different now. We may be a small nation but
we have the ability to think big and punch above our weight in many of the things we do. So at
the Bank we wanted to deliver something very unique. I am hopeful we have delivered this to
the people of Fiji and that this banknote will be loved by all.
While the designs on the banknote and coin will speak volumes once unveiled, there are other
design elements which are also exceptional. For instance, on the note, different inks have been
used to bring out certain special effects. We have used Optically Variable Ink (OVI) in a gold
colour representing the gold medal, which also contains embossed features in the shape of our
one's
logo, the tagaga, for the visually impaired. This effect can be felt by gradually moving
fingers over it. This embossing gives depth and lends itself perfectly to the depiction of a gold
medal.
When placed under an ultra violet light source, as a security feature designs that represent gold
medals around the necks of each player depicted on the note are revealed, as well as a set of goal
posts with a try being converted. There are also play-elements that depict how two of the
winning tries were master-minded and scored. In addition, there are design elements which are
very sharp and lifelike and which portray an inspirational player on the front, elated and happy
on his way to scoring a try, with our Fiji flag in the background. I am told that this iconic image
is the favourite of the player being depicted. It is a true trait of Fijian rugby players that when
they are happy, they play their hearts out and there's no stopping them.
We saw that in Rio and
again in Hong Kong just recently!
There are elements of design that shows the coach and mentor in very pensive thought mode, no
doubt thinking of the battles ahead. We have also broken away from the traditional watermark
of an i-taukei warrior as seen on our regular circulation banknotes. Instead, as a watermark we
have included a player from the Olympic gold medal winning team who is a warrior himself.
The watermark is oval shaped to depict a rugby ball in motion. The serial numbers are also laid
-
out in a unique manner one set in horizontal and one set in vertical format. All serial numbers
have their prefix as AU, the chemical symbol for gold. There is also a 2 millimeter security
thread with words dedicated to our gold Olympians.
The colours of the banknote are vibrant and sharp and match our noble banner blue with a hint of
gold on the numerals. And then there are elements of Fijian masi designs to complete the
aesthetics. Such has been the level of intricate detail on this special banknote and we thank
Oberthur Fiduciaire for the great work they did in taking our ideas and raw images and
expanding on them to produce what you will see shortly. From what I have described I am sure
you have painted your own picture of what will be unveiled shortly.
The coins have also been engraved remarkably well considering the small surface area we had to
work with. Included on the obverse is the denomination, Coat of Arms and issuing year. The
main design is that of a visionary mentor and coach in a backdrop training ground considered
one of the toughest to endure. On the reverse is an image of our 7s heroes bonded as a team.
The coin has been intricately designed in every aspect and I am thankful to the design and
engraving team from the Royal Canadian Mint.
Acknowledgements
Ladies and gentlemen before I finish, allow me to acknowledge a number of key players in the
whole process, some of whom are with us today.
From Oberthur Fiduciaire we have Victor De Sousa Passos, Executive Director Sales &
Marketing, Jonathan Garside, Director Business Development and Antony Duckels, Senior
Banknote Designer.
From the Royal Canadian Mint we have David Butler, Managing Director Sales, Foreign
Business Line.
Thank you, Gentlemen, for travelling all the way from France and Canada respectively. I also
acknowledge the hard work and contribution of the Mint's International Sales Director, Jeff
Hanke, who has worked very closely with our team on this project, but could not be with us
Jeff now has something to brag about with his Canadian team's
today. exceptional performance
in Singapore.
I also recognise Brooke Banks of De La Rue, printers of our currency for the past 103 years, for
being here to celebrate this win with all of us and show us their continued support.
There are a number of people who have also helped us during our journey to today's event.
I
have already mentioned Bruce Southwick, of Zoom Fiji Photography, for providing the precious
images and allowing us to use them for the designing of the banknote and coin. This is a man
who truly loves his rugby. The video that many of you saw before we started the programme
was also his. Thank you, Bruce. We are truly appreciative of your contribution.
I also thank the Fiji Times Ltd and Fiji Sun for providing us the various other images that we
have used during the design phase, and Fiji Airways and Tour Managers for bringing Ben back
to Fiji especially for this launch.
Much work has gone into this banknote and coin. I am thankful to the Reserve Bank Board for
giving us the go ahead and to our in-house Currency Technical Committee for the guidance
received during the designing phase. And in particular, I would like to single out our Chief
Manager Currency & Corporate Services, Susan Kumar, and our Manager Currency Ravi
Kamoda, for working tirelessly around the clock to ensure these banknotes and coins were
completed on time and delivered safely to our vault. I am also very thankful to our launch
putting together today's event.
committee and everyone else who played a part in Vinaka vaka
levu to you all.
Circulation
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fiji Rugby 7s commemorative banknote and coin will be issued into
circulation through the commercial banks from tomorrow and they will be legal tender, just like
any other banknote or coin. However for those of you who have just got to take one home
tonight, our currency team can assist you - for a small fee of course!
Stocks of these special notes and coins are limited but we are hopeful that every Fijian will get
one or the other should they want them. The Reserve Bank has printed 2 million banknotes and
minted 1 million coins and at this time we do not envisage adding to this number. Clearly they
will become collectors' items.
While members of the public can visit their nearest commercial
bank and purchase the notes and coins at face value, to satisfy the numismatic collectors the
Reserve Bank will also have a limited number of the notes in special covers and uncut sheets for
sale at our Pratt street building. Please feel free to visit us during office hours.
Closing
In closing Ladies and Gentlemen, recognising truly great performances by our fellow Fijians
(including adopted Fijians) on our banknotes and coins is the highest recognition we at the
Reserve Bank can give. We were privileged to have recognised Iliesa Delana in 2012 and now
we are just as privileged to recognise Ben Ryan, Osea Kolinisau and our magnificent rugby
sevens Olympians. You bring us together as a truly proud nation and serve as an inspiration to
us all.
Thank you again Ben for travelling so far just to join us for this evening. We wish you and all
our players the very best going forward and to our current coach and team just continue to show
the world how magnificent you are!
Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of the Board, Management and staff of the Reserve Bank of
Fiji, I once again extend my sincere gratitude to the Honourable Prime Minister for agreeing to
be our Chief Guest and to you all for kindly accepting our invitation to join us on this historic
occasion. We are truly humbled by your presence.
God bless us all and God bless Fiji.
I now have much pleasure in inviting our Prime Minister to address us before unveiling our Fiji
Rugby 7s Commemorative Banknote and Coin.
Prime Minister Sir.
END.