French Oceania included the islands of Society (of which Tahiti is the largest), the Marqueses Islands, Tuamotu, Tubai, Borabora, Ra'iatea, Taha'a, Huahine and others. The islands were claimed by France in 1768, and were visited by Captain Cook (1769) and the Bounty under Captain William Bligh (1788-89). French Polynesia became an overseas territory on October 25, 1946 and was formally named French Polynesia on July 22, 1957. The Marqueses Islands were ceded to France on May 1, 1842, and the Society Islands (Tahiti) on June 29, 1880.
Coins of Metropolitan France (FRG) were first authorized for use on September 4, 1848. Coins of Mexico, Chile, Peru and Greece also circulated at various points in time. The Banque de l'Indochine gained the right to issue notes on June 3, 1888 and a branch was opened in Papeete, Tahiti on December 5, 1905 where it began issuing banknotes.
The French Polynesian Franc (PFG) traded at par with the French Franc before World War II, but in 1941, New Caledonia was incorporated into the Sterling area. Consequently, the New Caledonia Franc did not depreciate at the same rate as the French Franc. United States "Hawaiian" Dollars, equal to 50 French Francs, were also used during World War II on New Caledonia. The Colonies Francaises du Pacifique (CFP) Franc (XPF) was created on December 26, 1945 for use in New Caledonia (NCF), French Polynesia and the Wallis and Futuna Islands. The CFP has also referred to Communaute Francaise du Pacifique and Communaute Financiere du Pacifique. French coins were used in French Polynesia until 1949 when coins were produced specifically for French Polynesia.
Because France had suffered inflation during the war, the initial exchange rate was set at 1 CFP Franc equal to 2.4 French Francs. By September 20, 1949, the exchange rate had sunk to 1 CFP Franc equal to 5.5 French Francs. When France introduced the Nouveau Franc on January 1, 1960, the CFP Franc did not change its value, but now the exchange rate became 1 CFP Franc equal to 0.055 Francs Nouveau. The Institut d'Emission d'Outre-Mer took over the right to issue banknotes from the Banque de l'Indochine in 1969. It issued separate, overprinted banknotes for French Polynesia (Papeete), the New Caledonia (Noumea) and the New Hebrides (Nouvelle Hebrides) until 1985, and began issuing a single series of banknotes for French Polynesia in 1985. The notes overprinted Papeete and Noumea are still valid.
Since the CFP Franc is a separate currency from the French Franc, French Polynesia does not use the Euro. |
