Vatu
From Freepedia
The Vatu (ISO 4217: VUV, sometimes Vt) is the official currency of Vanuatu. It was introduced after independence in 1982 to replace the New Hebrides Franc and the Australian Dollar.The Vatu is a unit by itself: it neither is nor ever has been divided into divisions such as hundreths. The reason for the low value of the currency is that it was designed to be similar in value to the CFP franc, XPF, used in New Caledonia and French Polynesia.
Currency is available as both notes and coins.:
- Notes are to the values of 100, 200, 500, 1000 and 5000 Vatu.
- Coins:
- Nickel brass: 1 Vatu (16mm) ; 2 Vatu (19mm) ; 5 Vatu (23mm)
- Cupronickel : 10 Vatu (24mm) ; 20 Vatu (28mm) ; 50 Vatu (33mm, a large coin)
- Nickel brass: 100 Vatu (23mm)
The value of the Vatu floats, but is reputed to be pegged to a fixed but secret basket of currencies. Approximate rates (September 2005, rounded to nearest vatu) are 1 USD = 111 VUV, 1 GBP = 205 VUV, 1 AUD = 85 VUV, 1 NZD = 79 VUV, 1 EUR = 139 VUV, 10 HKD = 143 VUV, 100 JPY = 102 VUV.
Local residents sometimes refer to a notional dollar, equal to 100 Vatu, without specifying which country's currency they have in mind. Although no such thing exists, it simplifies thinking in the larger numbers which a low-value unit causes. For example, the Government's budget of 6,000,000,000 VUV is in fact only about 50,000,000 USD.
The concept of this notional dollar is supported by the size of the 100 Vatu coin: at 23mm it is comparable to the Australian dollar (25mm) and the New Zealand dollar (23mm), two major sources of Vanuatu expatriates and tourists. Traders will often accept a real dollar (regardless of its country) as an equivalent to local currency.
