In article , Coffee's
For Closers writes
Recently, I was buying a New Zealand Ten Shilling note. The Cook
version, from 1940 onwards. It was comfortably within my budget.

But, I mentioned the earlier version of the Ten Shilling, with
another design, from 1934-40. And, my dealer's assistant pulled
one out. It was, shall we say, *not* in the same neighbourhood
as my budget.

Anyway, it was a "large" format note. Which I hadn't realised
before. I think this was in roughly the same size as the earlier
*bank* banknotes issued by banks in the 1920s/30s before the
Reserve Bank took over.

I seem to recall this as also being the period when the USA
Federal Reserve notes downsized, as well. And perhaps some other
places?

So, this lead to one of my general musings...

Why did "they" change the size of the notes? From the larger to
the smaller? Did this happen in many places at around the same
time?

Thanks for any insight...

(Shot in the dark)
More and more of the populace were prosperous enough to carry banknotes
as a matter of routine, and the size was reduced to make them easier to
carry, especially in hip pocket wallets.
--
Roger Hunt