A $5 note that could be 23 years old was in such pristine condition the person who found it believed it must be counterfeit.
Barista Olivia He came across the note when she was cashing up the day's takings at Mega Cafe in Mitre 10 Mega Whangarei.
"The feel was different to the other notes, it was just too different from the rest," she said.
Ms He grew up in China where her mother taught her how to identify counterfeit money because it is a prevalent problem there. She called her boss and told her she thought they had been given counterfeit money.
Owner and manager Lynda Gibson said as soon as she saw it she thought something wasn't right. "I called ASB Bank and asked if they had any new notes in circulation and they said no. I then called the police who told me to bring it down with any CCTV footage we had," Mrs Gibson said.