1934 New Zealand Serial Number 1 Lefeaux One Pound

Reserve Bank of New Zealand First Series One Pound Serial Number 1A 000001. Governor Leslie Lefeaux ( 1st January 1934 - 31st December 1940 ). Pick#155.

Soon after the newly formed Reserve Bank of New Zealand was established on 1 August 1934, this note was discovered in 1935 after being spent at the Alexandria Hotel as payment for a room. Realizing its significance, the proprietors framed it on a wall, and it remained in the family for several decades. 

Printed by Thomas de la Rue and Co. Ltd in mauve purple. Portrait of King Tāwhiao, the second Māori king by Gottfried Lindauer, an illustration of a Kiwi by John Gerrard Keulemans, and the Coat of Arms of New Zealand. On the back is a vignette of Mitre Peak in Milford Sound, New Zealand. 

From The Joshua Lee Collection, acquired via Aventine Numismatics. PMG Choice aUNC. Among the most impressive and significant New Zealand banknotes, exemplifying the spirit of some of the earliest foundational collectors that preserved the nation's numismatic history for future generations.