This commemorative note was issued in 1999.
Two Thousand Dollars
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| Dated 2000, P103 |
Obverse: Portrait of the President of Fiji, the late Ratu Sir Kamisesse Mara (1920-2004, President of Fiji 1993-2000). Special serial numbers from Y2K 0001 to Y2K 2000;
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| Reverse |
Reverse: The sunrise of the millennium event and the 180 degrees Meridian Line running through the three locations in Fiji of Rabi, Udu Point and Taveuni;
If you collect the 2000 Millennium notes, then you will have to agree with me that this has to be the icing on the cake for all the Millennium banknotes issued. The release of this note (together with others) was first announced by the central bank on 22.09.1999. Fiji, back in the year 2000 was then the first country to see the new Millennium (now Samoa Western) and this note, together with the
$2 note (1 million pieces printed), $5 Silver coin (mintage 10,000) and $50 gold coin (mintage 2,500) were specifically issued to celebrate this special occasion. The special about this Fiji $2000 note is that this is the highest face value of all the millennium notes issued. In fact, the value of this note is higher than all the face value of all other millennium notes issued combined. A total of 2000 pieces were issued for this denomination with serial numbers ranging from Y2K 0001 to Y2K 2000, and with such a low print, there is only one solid serial number note in this series. Obviously, you would agree with me that the best note to have is either the first note or the last one for obvious reasons. I have a feeling that these two notes are in the hands of VIPs in Fiji. In some countries, it's quite common that such notes are presented to VIPs as gifts or souvenirs, such as the Governor, President, Prime Minister etc. If you managed to get hold of such notes, then you are a very lucky person.
In all, 16 countries/commercial banks had issued commemorative banknotes to celebrate the new Millennium. Most countries celebrated the millennium with one or two notes, however full sets were released by Belarus and Slovakia. In all, a total of 39 millennium notes were issued. This Fiji $2000 is quite a large note measuring 110mm x 201mm.
It is unlikely that you will ever see this note in circulation in the
country. This is the highest denomination ever printed, and the current
largest denomination in circulation is the F$100, which was first
introduced in 2007. In addition to this, most people in the country may
not be even aware of the existence of such notes either. This note was
sold at a premium, and who wants to spend it at face value? However, my
experience has told me that specially issued commemorative notes have
been sighted in circulation in the past and this could only
be due to ignorance or desperation or even on purpose (like taking revenge
on a not so loved one). Touch wood, not me!
My friends, please note that I have discounted all other notes issued in the year 2000 as those were not specifically meant for the Millennium commemorative. Despite being printed with the year date 2000, these were only issued due to either by public demand or depletion of stock. Some were printed due to the uncertainty of the Y2K bugs, which may cause the shut down of the banking electronic systems. In 1999, Australia printed a large quantity of the $50 and $100 to counter the possibility of such an attack which we all now know that this did not happen. These were the only 2 notes Australia printed in 1999 and none were printed in 2000.
View all year 2000 millennium banknotes issued
