Tuvaluan dollar : Ask Biography

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The dollar is the currency of Tuvalu. From 1966 to 1976, Tuvalu officially used the Australian dollar. In 1976, Tuvalu began issuing its own coins for circulation, although these circulate alongside Australian coins and Tuvalu continues to use Australian banknotes. Similar to the Faroese króna's relationship to the Danish krone, the Tuvaluan dollar is not an independent currency but has been assigned an ISO 4217 currency code, although it is treated as equivalent to the Australian dollar.

Other currencies used in Tuvalu have been the Pound Sterling, prior to the introduction of the Australian dollar, as well as the US dollar, during the World War II occupation of the islands. Gilbert and Ellice Islands banknotes have also been used on in Tuvalu, However, the Gilbert and Ellice Islands notes were more along the lines of cashier's cheques issued in Pound equivalents rather than an official independent currency.

The Yen backed Oceania pound was used in parts of the Gilberts (now Kiribati), but Japanese influence never actually reached the Ellice Chain (now Tuvalu).