The Pakamotu group had been defying the French state for years by purporting to have its own government.
Last year, Athanase Teiri was convicted in the criminal court and given a nine-month jail term for circulating a fake currency and for intimidation.
On appeal, the sentence was increased by three months to a year.
He and his backers distributed the so-called patu as part of his claim that it would be replacing the French Pacific franc.