World coins chat: New Zealand

New Zealand is a country in the south west Pacific with a population of 4.5 million. Because of its remoteness, it was the last major land mass (outside of Antarctica) to be settled by humans. Only in the 13th century AD Polynesian tribes arrived and developed a separate Maori culture.

The first Europeans to sight New Zealand were Dutch explorer Abel Tasman and his crew in 1642. They named it 'Staten Eiland' but Dutch cartographers started using New Zealand after the Dutch province of Zeeland.

It would take another 130 years for Europeans to visit the place. James Cook claimed New Zealand for Britain and in 1840 the Waitangi Treaty was signed between the British authorities and Maori tribes establishing British sovereignity. The Maori felt betrayed by the controversial land purchases and a guerilla against the Europeans was waged for decades to follow.

In 1907 New Zealand became a Dominion within the British Empire. Self-rule and therefore factual independence was established with the Westminster Act in 1947. The head of state of New Zealand is Queen Elizabeth II.

New Zealand is a developed economy but enjoys less prosperity than neighbouring Australia. Food products form the majority of New Zealand's export value.

Currency
New Zealand used British and Australian Pounds until the New Zealand Pound was introduced in 1933 that was worth 20% less (16 UK Shillings) than the British Pound in order to keep its exports competitive during the Great Depression.

After WW2 the UK devalued and the New Zealand Pound was reset at par with the British Pound, making it worth 1.25 Australian Pounds. The currency was decimalised in 1967, a year after Australia. The New Zealand Dollar replaced the Pound at a rate of 10 Shillings or 1£=2$. That same year the UK and New Zealand devalued their currencies, and the NZ$ dropped from $1.40 to $1.20 in USD.

The following decades the Kiwi (as the NZD is nicknamed) dropped to below the Australian Dollar's value reflecting the weaker economy. It is now worth around 68 US cents.

The New Zealand Dollar is also the official currency of the Cook Islands (alongside the Cook Islands Dollar which mainly functions as souvenir but is legal tender), Niue, Tokelau and the Pitcairn Islands.

Coins
New Zealand's first coins were bank tokens used to supplement the shortage in small change. Official currency issuance started in 1933, with silver coins of 50% fineness in denominations of 3d, 6d, 1s, 2s and a Half Crown (two and a half Shilling). Bronze half and one Penny were added in 1937. Silver was replaced by cupro-nickel in 1947, similar to the UK. Australia on the other hand, despite the 20% lower value of its Pound, continued to use silver in its coins until 1966.

The first issues of the decimalised 10 Cents coin also had the value '1 Shilling' on it, to ease the transition to the new currency. The sizes of the 5c, 10c and 20c coins were equal to its predecessors the sixpence, shilling and florin.

In 1990 a new design of the 20 Cents was introduced to reflect Maori culture. That year also saw the introduction of the 1 and 2 Dollar coins. The following years the 1, 2 and 5 Cents were phased out as inflation made them obsolete.

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/nouvelle-zelande-1.html

Perhaps Neil wishes to add a few nice Kiwi anecdotes to this topic?

The coins were resized in 2006 at the same time that the 5c coins were phased out as the cost of production was not economic with the larger coins. They also changed the composition of the 10c, 20c and 50c coins from cu-ni to a more hardwearing copper plated steel for the 10c and nickel plated steel for the 20c and 50c.

The first coins used were actually British coins, but mostly silver coinage was taken over from the UK as it was easier and more economical to take silver coins than it was to take large quantities of copper coinage on the four month boat journey. So to cover the shortage of lower values it was merchants that minted their own tokens that circulated as normal currency, not bank tokens. These make an interesting area of collection and I urge everyone to have a look at the Traders Tokens section of the New Zealand catalogue.

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/nouvelle-zelande-1.html#devise2978

Not a bad description, but the Pennies and Halfpence were not added in 1937, they were added in November 1939 and the coins released were dated 1940. There was originally a plan to release them in 1940 to coincide with the centenary of the Treaty of Waitangi (The Treaty of sovereignty in which my people, the Maori ceded their sovereignty to the British crown and the British monarch as head of state). However World War 2 intervened and the coins were rushed out from the Royal mint in London before the end of 1939.

All of our currency has been minted in the United Kingdom, with the exception of some coin issues from the Royal Australian Mint and Canadian mints (Mostly Uncirculated sets). Some of the 1997 $2 coins were also minted in South Africa, which caused headaches, as the $2 is a the Pokie machine (Fruities, one armed bandits) coin and the slightly different SA coins were rejected and jammed hoppers along with car parking machines.

Our coins were sterling to 1967. The silver was ceased in 1946, with 1947 3d to 5/- all being Cupro nickel and base metal. There were no coins minted in 1938 or 1966 and no denomination was minted every single year. Our great rarities are the 1935 Waitangi Crown (5/-) as it was sold at 7/6 in 1935, few sold as it was still the depression and now the coin is worth at least $3000 in any condition - only 1,128 were minted. The proof set of 1935 is even more collectable with the Crown, 3d and 6d, 1/- ,2/- and 2/6 Halfcrown all scarce themselves. Generally NZ silver is hard to find truly AU or UNC, Coins to VF are fairly easy though, except 1943, 1945 and 1946 which are fairly easy to find along with 1933 and 1934 which had generous mintages.

The other great rarity is the 1935 3d, the tiny coin had only 40,000 minted compared to the millions for other dates. Even a VG copy will set you back the low hundreds and truly XF/UNC coins cost $1000's. Other varieties include the 1942 3d with one diamond on the date, the Broken back shilling of 1946 and the high relief florin of 1946 (In silver, but minted in sharper relief like later Cupro nickel coins - the decision to scrap silver came in 1945 and tests were done in 1946, most 1947 dated CuNI coins were minted in 1946). Also collectable are various 1956 coins with the Strapless portrait of Her Majesty (They changed to Straps in 1956)

1967 saw the Introduction of Decimal currency, with 6 coins 1c and 2c in Bronze and the 5c, 10c, 20c, and 50c in Copper Nickel. The 50c was the size of the old half crown but worth twice as much, it had a reeded and plain edge to separate it from the lower coins. NZ did not bother with a Silver 50c like Australia and as we know it was only 1966 and in 1969 the 50 cents there came out in 12 sided form.

Also a $1 large coin was released, the same as the old crowns (1935 Waitangi and 1949 Royal Visit (The visit that never happened due to KGVI being ill). Like the 1953 Coronation/Royal Visit coin, it was Cupro nickel. These dollars came out every year to 1990, when it was changed to $5 as that year circulation $1 and $2 were released. Each dollar had a different design, but some years like 1967, 1971 - 73, 1975, 76 had the Coat of arms. Some years like 1983 had two designs.

The coins continued through to 1986, when the portrait changed from the Machin one to the Maklouf, a year later than Australia and Britain. In 1987 the last circulation 1 and 2 cent pieces were released and demonitised in 1989, but set coins appeared in the 1988 set. In 1968 no coins were released or circulation, but were issued in sets and 1968 also had no $1 coin.

In 1990, two major changes happened, the 20 cent got an updated design showing a giant Maori carving gate post called Pukaki. The $1 and $2 notes were phased out and replaced by $1 and $2 coins in aluminium bronze. Although dated 1990, the coins only emerged in February 1991, I remember them as I was 14 and dying to see what they looked like!

Very few circulation coins came out in the early 1990s, with nothing between 1990 20 cent pieces and a new issue of 5 cent pieces in 1994. The late 90s and early 2000s saw many coins issued.

More in a later post.

Another mistake in the original post was the role of the 5 cent piece. The tiny coin hung on until 2006. The last mintings were done in 2004, when some 4 million coins were made, but only 30,000 made it in into circualtion making them scarce now. Many went into a tourist set of coins and another into the small change set released in 2006 and now very scarce costing $90 or so for 85 cents of old currency and 80 cents of new.

On July 31st 2006, the old 5 cent coin was phased out along with the 10c, 20c, and 50c. This ended a uniform size for the 3 lower coins since 1933. Cupro nickel had become too expensive and the real value of the coins was practically worthless, with a cup of coffee that cost 10c in 1967 now costing about $4 for a fancy one and $2 for filter coffee. Many complaints were received about the large 20c and 50c given their worthlessness.

However the last 5 cent coins were minted in 2004 and the other coins 2005 and now these coins are very rare and that is why the Small change sets are so collectable (Only 5000 issued and numbered). I have squirrelled away 2005 20c and 50c coins.

A two month toleration period was given to redeem the old coins, which became illegal on October 1st. At this time I was working in a $2 shop (Another effect of the poverty economy of the millenial era) and people from all around desparate to offload jars of change redeemed their cash on September 30. We imposed a limit of $10 change for sales (In NZ the legal limit is actually $5 for coins in cents and $20 for dollar coins), from it I pulled out mountains of rusted and dirty coins, but also a good lot of old Florins, shillings and sixpences including a 1942 silver shilling coin.

The coins were replaced by a new 10c in copper plated steel and stainless steel 50c and 20c. The new coins were smaller and lighter than the older ones. The old 50c was 32.5mm in size and weighed 13.5 grams, the new one was 26mm and weighed only 6 grams. This now meant the $2 was our largest and thickest coin weighing 10 grams and 27mm in size. The 20c dropped from 28.5mm and 11.3 grams down to 22mm and 5 grams. Designs were the same as the old coins.

There have been limited issues of these coins for circulation as they really are change coins only. The work horses are the $1 and $2 coins along with the 3 lower notes $5, $10 and mostly the $20. The 10 cents has been released most years since 2006, but 20c only appeared in 2006 and 2008, although new issues from 2014 and 2016 have just appeared. The 50c has only appeared in 2006 and 2009, with a limited 2015 issue. This does not include annual set coin issues.

A second 2015 50 cent issue showing an Anzac soldier pair with blackened background and specially printed flags was also issued, only 1 million were made and most were given to veterans and soldiers with the rest disappearing into collectors rolls of 20, which sold out in seconds. These coins are now rare collector pieces with almost none entering circulation (Trade Me seller sell them at $3 each when they came out and $10 orso each now - I squirreled away 10 of these coins).

Eftpos which is Debit card payment systems and advanced swipe creditcards and now apple cash have ensured cash money is limited here and coins are quite rarely used except by Kids, ethnic minorities and the poor. Some 80% of all payments in NZ are done by Eftpos.

Next sets of coins

In addition to circulation currency, we have a tradition of coin sets issued from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and sold at a hefty premium to collectors.

The first official set came in 1935 with the Waitangi Crown and the 5 silver coins then in circulation. This set is extrememly rare with under 363 copies issued. The 3d and Crown are both extremely rare coins and the rarest we have issued and the other 4 coins are not exactly common either. Very few sold given their cost (One Guinea 21/- or something like that for 11/3 worth of currency) and it was the Depression with men being as little as 5/- on work gangs. The red cardboard covers are also quite flimsy and have not survived. These sets appear in various states of completeness from time to time. They are never sold for less than $10,000 or so. 97 of the sets came in a plush case, but again most are stained and falling apart after 80 years.

The rest of the Predecimal era saw proof like coins issued, but apart from the 1961 - 1965 most ciruclation pieces are heavily worn and truly Proof like quality is rare for most dates and not known for some others. The 1949 coin crown for the Royal Visit was issue separately with no accompanying set, like all early dates people may have made their own sets though, but 1949 saw no 3d, 6d or 1/- coins issued. The coin was at least .500 silver when all the others were base metals. Unlike 1935, this coin is very common and usually found in VF or EF condition selling only above melt in truly UNC condition.

The second Proof set came in 1953, with the cupronickel "Coronation" crown being issued. This set is much more common (7000), but still quite expensive costing $175 to $500 depending on the quality of the coins. Also in a case, it is impossible not to find burnished and tarnished coins, so truly nice coins cost much more. Also none of the coins in this set are Precious metal and most 1953 Circulation coins are very common in average condition (VG to VF) but scarce in UNC condition. The crown was also issued in a nice plastic case and often the Crowns survive better than the Proof sets. Nice but super common. New Zealand in 1953 was a different country to 1935, Prosperous and well off, people bought this and the 1965 set in droves.

Then in 1965 Uncirculated sets were issued for the last Predecimal coins in heavy card packets. The sets were ultra common and designed so everyone could buy them as a souvenir. There were two grades (Blue - Standard coins and Pink - Polished coins) despite the high catalogue prices, these are common as muck and you can get both for $10 if you look wisely. By this stage every man and his dog was collecting and saving coins. NZer's knew of decimal currency and many saved as much of the old currency as possible. Many of the 1965 coins entered circulation (All except the penny and Halfcrown) and some can be found worn. And this was in addition to large issues of the ½d 3d, 6d, 1/- and Florin that year. Many 10/- and £1 notes were also issued and hoarded by well off 1960s New Zealanders. Even a few £5 and £10 were put aside but the rare £50 was too elusove and too great a sum of money (Average pay was about £15 - 25 a week for an average working man whether white or blue collar).

500 sets were balloted quality and are rare, 24,500 were proof sets with the Pink label and the other 175,000 were standard coins, all but the 500 came in the cardboard folder. None contained precious metals. So many 1965 dated coins were hoarded, that a boatload of used Australian pennies now obselete were bought over in early 1966 to alleviate a coinage shortage. During 1966 the Royal Mint issued no more coins as they were minting some of the nearly 300 million decimal coins dated 1967 for the rollout on July 10th.

 

2026 Update - Whew! big mistakey here - 1965 sets 3 grades not 2

 

Blue - Specimen sets like Proofs - prooflike but not cameoed, some coins may approach proof standards, struck twice and well handled. 25k sets sold at £2 each. You got lustre in buckets and some creamy striking, they sold out in the preorders, leaving just green and pink sets for the general public.

 

There was also 300 ballot sets, which were issued in a nice case, but basically the same coins as these - yet these go for several hundred $$$ now as dignitaries and Fancy Schmancy VIP got them.

 

Blue sets are gorgeous and survive well, sold out originally you can get them around $30 or so, not rare but the best of this lot.

 

Green - Selected coins - This is the 2nd set and the one not mentioned in the ancient original text. These were standard coins, only struck once, but they were removed off the belts once struck and did not fall in the hoppers like normal coins. So you got some nice mark free specimens and the quality of striking was good. There were 75k of these sets and they were issued at the price of £1 each (Source Robert Pepping, NZ coin history coined, 2016).

 

Not as shiny, but still nice

 

Pink - Ordinary Uncirculated coins - Yes the British minters put this on the tickets, just to let you know your set was the cheapest and most common and would have least desirability. (You peasants, you swine!). It cost just 10/- or basically 50% more than face value. But you got some well struck coins and generally a quality product. It sold well as it contained the penny and halfcrown, which were not issued in circulation for 1965. Both coins were quickly cut out of sets and added to collections. A green or pink set goes for $10 - $20, yet many dealers sell loose pennies and halfcrowns for up to $10 each.

 

  

The coins above show the differences in quality (U = Pink, S = Selected, P = Prooflike).

 

The coins were minted normally and allowed to fill in buckets. Minting and packaging happened at the Royal mint, but the cardboard sleeves were printed here. All 3 grades got the same purple sleeve (Another mistake I wrote).

Thank you moneytane for the very informative posts!

Starting with decimal currency, the Reserve bank started issuing annual sets of coins, not for circulation but for collectors. Numbers for 1967 were very high with the same arrangements as 1965, standard coins, polished and a few balloted sets. The first two came in cardboard sleeves like 1965, and there was a plush case one could buy for their set as well.

These sets contained the 1c to 50c of circulation coins and a special $1 coin showing the coat of arms of NZ, both are extraordinarily common and even now I pay 70c for an uncirculated 1967 $1 coin. However in 1968, no coins were issued for circulation and the set only went to 50c with no $1 coin. The six coins again were released as Standard and Polished coins, and a case was made for sale. The coins came packaged in a horrible plastic sleeve in PVC like every issue from 1965 to 1988. Until 1982, this plastic had softeners so the copper 1c and 2c often burnished and the other coins toned. It is recommended these sets are opened up and transferred to mylar flips.

Starting in 1969, an annual uncirculated set was issued each year in a plastic wallet, that had the set of 7 coins (1c to 50c and the $1 commem coin) in one pocket and an information card listing the weights and design of each coin in the other. Only the date and the description for the dollar changed from year to year. Starting in 1980 they used better plastic and the coins come across less toned.

The dollars had new designs each year, 1969 was James Cook, 1970 was Mt Cook, and so on. Then 1971 to 1973 was standard coats of arms and same with 1975/76. 1974 Commonwealth games and 1977 to 1988 featured a new anniversary each year. These large dollars were also sold separately in jewel cases with a plastic surround and cost $5 or so each, so these large dollars did not circulate, although they were legal tender. Average mintages were only 10 - 30,000 and were aimed at collectors. 1970 saw the Mt. Cook dollar and a Cook Islands dollar (Cook Islands only got their own coinage in 1972). The latter is scarce and issued loose only. 1983 saw 50th anniversary of coins and the Royal visit, the former was in sets, and latter as a loose $1 coin only.

From 1968 to 1971 the Proof sets were polished coins in base metal like the Uncirculated sets and again, these were sold loose or in packets, but designed for separate plush cases. As a result most are toned or burnished and exceptionally nice proof sets of the era are more rare than usual examples. Starting in 1972 however the Proof sets improved to being a $1 coin minted in Sterling (0.925) silver next to polished base metal 1c to 50c coins. As the $1 was huge and contained 25 grams of silver, the price was high, being at some $25 in 1972 and over $100 by the late 1980s. The set was enclosed in a thick plastic case with a foam cushion for the coins to fit snuggly in. By the mid 1970s the cases could also stand up and the inserts included the same cards as uncirulated, but nicer card. lettering and even numbered certificates. Proof dollars in silver were also issued separately in "Ring" plush velveteen boxes.

The next change came in 1989, when the plastic cases for uncirculated sets were changed to glossed card board covers with a slipcase for them and a thinner plastic covering each coin. Also the 1989 and 1990 sets only contained 5 coins as the 1c and 2c had been phased out.

In 1990 also the $1 commem coin became a $5 coin as the $1 and $2 were now small sized coins. 1990 saw the issue of a special 1990 sesquicentennial set of 5c to $1 with new designs and also issued in Proof silver versions. There were also 4 x $1 coins issued for the 1990 Commonwealth games in Auckland.

1991 saw another change with the Uncirculated and Proof sets being of 7 coins again. Now they contained a 5c, 10c, 20c and 50c in Cupronickel, the Aluminium Bronze $1 and $2 and the $5 large size coin in Cupronickel for Uncirculated sets and Silver for Proof sets. The Proof sets came in the same cases as before and the $5 coinw as polished silver and others also polished, whereas the Uncirculated were standard coins chosen at the time of minting.

Like the $1 before the $5 was the same size and featured new topics each year. Again the coin was a commem and not intended for circulation, as the $5 denomination was and still is a banknote. As the 1990s wore on Minting numbers dropped into the low Thousands.

Starting in the late 1990s coins for bullion and collectors were released in addition to the set coins, these included 50c, $10, $20 and even a gold bullion $150 coin released at various times. Special $5 coins were released in the late 1990s for each of the 4 main cities in Uncirculated CuNi and Proof silver versions. Pride in New Zealand and various bullion issues followed.

In the 2000s, gimmicky gold, silver and aluminium bronze collectors coins followed for the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies, tie ins with stamp issues were also issued. The amount of overpriced rubbish expanded exponentially, so that the old Proof and uncirculated sets were just one part of a massive issuing craze at the time.

Today Proof and Uncirculated sets and coins are still issued, but are hard to get as barely 1,000 are minted and prices are ridiculous to say the least.

Updating these posts, I need to correct a few mistakes

Proof sets were in Cupronickel until 1977 not 1972 as I noted earlier. I found this out when I got a 1976 set (The year of my birth) and they were clearly cupro nickel coins including the dollar.

Also uncirculated sets after 2006 with the small coins had the small coins minted in bronze (10c) and Cupronickel (20c and 50c) this differed to the stainless steel of standard coins. In 2012 the last set of 6 coins was issued, in 2013 and 2014 Uncirculated $5 coins were issued separately from the $2 - 10c coins and in 2014 Uncirculated sets stopped with only Proofs being issued. Several large $1 and $5 coins are issued yearly in .999 Silver ($1 Bullion) and .925 Sterling for $5 commemorative coins.

Small sized circulation coins have been issued in 2006, 07, 09, 10 - 15 for 10 cents, 2006, 08, 14 and 15 for 20c and 2006, 09, 14 and 15 for 50 cents.

The 50 cents also had a Gallipoli special coin in 2015 and an armistice coin in 2018. The first had a mintage of 1 million and 2nd of 2 million. Both are scarce and sell for around $3 each on trade me.

Dollar coins include the dates 1990, 91, 00, 02 - 05, 08, 10, 15
Two dollar coins - 1990, 91, 97, 98, 99, 01 - 03, 05, 08, 11, 14 - 16 (Although I have not seen any 2016 dated coins yet)

So we don't get circulating pieces every year and they are all minted overseas, so the Reserve Bank decides when we get coins released. Also for all denominations, the first two years of dollars (1990 and 1991) saw 100 million coins released and most are still doing well (Avg condition F - VF) and 2006 saw jumbo numbers of cents coins, most 2006 coins are still XF or better and lustrous given this cheap metals durability.

The special 50 cent coins



2015 Gallipoli 50 cent piece - Stainless steel 24.5mm, minted Royal Canadian mint
I million, 500k distributed to Armed forces, 400k sold in rolls through Post Office, 100k in circulation - never seen

2018 Armistice coin - 2 million, same specs as above - most disappeared to Armed forces, rolls and collectors (I have 48 of these coins!)



2018 close up
Outside (On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month)
Inner ring Maori korus and ferns
Middle - Coloured poppy with ferns and wreaths

It's a pity they only allowed 1 roll per person to be ordered at a time. I was hoping to get 2 rolls so I could have one roll to keep whole and one to split up to give away, but I wasn't going to pay two lots of $5 postage for a $10 roll of coins.

Quote: "neilithicman"​It's a pity they only allowed 1 roll per person to be ordered at a time. I was hoping to get 2 rolls so I could have one roll to keep whole and one to split up to give away, but I wasn't going to pay two lots of $5 postage for a $10 roll of coins.

​That $5 postage was a deliberate rort. There was no way to buy them at the Post Shops like with the 2015 coins, and they had all sold out on Day 1. I had friends who got 3 rolls and I want to know how anyone could be selling a box of 50 rolls on Trade Me a week later.

These coins were all like $3 each on Trade Me straight away (Non Kiwis - Trade Me is our Ebay style online site - our Bid or Buy or Kajiji). I bought my one roll and then my friend sold me one for $15 and he let pick some change out of his box with numerous 50c in it, hence why I have 48 of them.

You know something's up when standard currency sets cost over $100 for $3.80 worth of coins and another $80 for the $5 commem.

New Zealand also issued some commemorative coins in the Predecimal era.

There was the 1935 Waitangi crown which is very rare and sells in the 5 figures.

More affordable was the 1940 Centennial Half Crown https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces18188.html


100,080 were issued and they were sold at the Centennial Exhibition, minted in 50% and rest copper, the coins were snapped up quickly and put away. Very few entered circulation and even VF examples retail around $20 now. However unlike most silver Half crowns, which range from Good condition to UNC, prices range from $5 or melt for G/VG examples through to $1000s for UNC pieces, an Uncirculated example of this coin is only about $80.

Most of these coins are found in VF condition and very few are more worn The coin on the Numista page is a standard VF/gVF example. This example is a decent EF/AU. The King had visible wear on cheek and headlines, but the other side is virtually UNC, but with some wear on the dress (AU). It is probably worth twice what a VF coin is, yet I paid only $10 for it.

I actually find that the 1949 Crown is cheaper than the 1940 half, perhaps because of the wonderful design.

VF examples of the 1940 half are usually listed for $25-$30 whereas the 1949 crown in similar condition is usually $20-$25. I had one up for sale for $25 for several weeks and had no bites at all. Eventually sold I off to a young Australian member of Numista for $15, because I felt better about that than offering it to the numerous vultures on trademe who were hanging out trying to get it for next to nothing.

Quote: "neilithicman"​It's a pity they only allowed 1 roll per person to be ordered at a time. I was hoping to get 2 rolls so I could have one roll to keep whole and one to split up to give away, but I wasn't going to pay two lots of $5 postage for a $10 roll of coins.

​Hi Neil- I got 2 rolls for myself and 2 for my wife with $5 postage- i think you need to be nice to the ladies in Wanganui , have been giving to traders as a gift -- unlike the first one have not seen circulating Murray

Yes, we do have a bit of corruption with these things, I feel the Reserve Bank is deliberately making these coins as expensive collectables rather than circulating currency as their intention.

Another mistake I need to correct from earlier posts.

1. The 2004 5 cent piece was released in bigger numbers and now hoards have been found and the coin is now common and quite cheap to buy (Catalogue value crashed from $50 to $4)

2. Proof collectors sets, from 1977 onwards, only the $1 or $5 for post 1990 sets, was minted in Sterling Silver, the 1c to 50c (pre 1990) and 5c - $2 (Post 1990) were all base metal.

A small question, as New Zealand and also Australia are part of the commonwealth,
why do they have the "dollar" and not the "pound" ?

Quote: "PhilipBe"​A small question, as New Zealand and also Australia are part of the commonwealth,
​why do they have the "dollar" and not the "pound" ?
​

​They did until 1966, when they switched from the Aussie/NZ pre-decimal pound to a new currency, the decimal Aussie/NZ dollar at the rate of 10 shillings (or half a pound) to 1 dollar.

Most countries that used to use the pound sterling as their currency decimalised their coins in the 1960s-1970s. The UK was the only one that kept their currency name as the pound.

NZ, Australia, Fiji, Jamaica, Rhodesia, etc changed to the dollar, South Africa switched to the rand, Samoa the Tala, Tonga the Pa'anga, Gambia the Dalasi, etc. All of them are a base 10 system rather than the confusing 240 pence to the pound system.

Quote: "PhilipBe"​A small question, as New Zealand and also Australia are part of the commonwealth,
​why do they have the "dollar" and not the "pound" ?
​

​Change is a wonderful thing. By the 1960s we were cutting our Apron Strings to Mother Britain and wanted a distinctive currency. Yet remain in the currency union with the UK (The dollar was pegged at 10/- and later 50p).

Early suggestions were to call our new dollar the Kiwi, and the Australian's to call theirs the Royal.

Another reason was for simplicity, dollar currencies are base 10, meaning you have the 100 cents rather than 240 pennies and 20 shillings. It is simpler too as the main unit has 1 subunit not 2. Maths and accounting became easier overnight.

Also both countries were in ANZUS (Australia, New Zealand, United States) and it seemed good to have similar named currencies (Although initially our dollar was stronger than the US and Australian and now its weaker than both (NZ$1 = 94 cents AUD and 67 cents USD). This was because our dollar was floated in 1984 and promptly dropped in value. Despite this our Dollar is the 10th most traded currency in the world (Australian is 4th or 5th) and is a stable unit of currency.

Finally most of the world by the 1960s was using a "Base 10" system with dollars, francs, marks, yuan, pesetas, pesos, escudos, lira etc - all were base 10 decimal style currencies. Only the British held out and even by 1967 it was only the UK and a few colonies still using sterling, the Asian colonies all used a decimal system based on dollars, the Indians decimalised the rupee in 1957 and Pakistan in 1961. Most of the Caribbean colonies used a communal Caribbean dollar. Also East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania) had been using decimal shillings since 1927.

In 1966 Australia changed over taking Papua and New Guinea, Gilbert and Ellice, the Solomon Islands and Nauru into decimal currency with it. When we switched in 1967, the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau and Tonga and Samoa also adopted decimal currency. In 1969 laggards Fiji and Jamaica became decimal.

Southern and West Africa in the Commowealth were the last to convert. Ghana, Gambia and Sierra Leone in 1965, Botswana in 1966, South, South West Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland in 1961 - Rhodesia Zimbabwe in 1970, Zambia in 1968,

Gibraltar, Cyprus and the Channel Islands all did in 1971 with Britain along with Ireland. The last two sterling holdouts were Malta who only converted in May 1972 and the very last was actually Nigeria whom only abandoned the Pound in April 1973 for the Naira made up of 100 Kobo

Thank you very much.

Thanks Moneytane for the informative posts; I've been enjoying reading them these past couple of weeks.

Funny-- I can remember as a child going thru the pre 1967 coins, looking for the Australian ones knowing that they were partly silver right up to 1965 and of course the first 50cent Australia was silver as well . They were the same size as the NZ ones, and often came up in spare change

After the 1949 Visit Crown which was half silver and only 200k made was the 1953 Royal Visit Crown



After the failure of the 1949 Visit, this one happened and some 257,000 Crown sized coins were issued. I am not sure what they were sold at, but came in the plastic cases above (Possibly the first plastic case for a collectors coin and first in New Zealand at least).



My guess is that they were sold above face value (5/-) and did not circulate. Unlike the other commems, these are not rare and less collectible being minted only in Cupro nickel (The other crowns and 1940 Half Crown were half silver).

These coins are very cheap now and generally are found in VF+ condition. The coin above is AU or UNC and was in the case. Whereas a 1949 Crown or 1940 Half Crown has a premium for high grade, these don't as they catalogue at only $12 for UNC and $6 for a standard VF+ coin.

It possible some circulated as they were legal tender and held no precious metal. 1953 Saw a complete issue of all the silver coins, but no more Florins or Half crowns were minted until 1961, as there had been huge numbers minted between 1947 and 1951.

It is easy to find one and cheaply, even though they are catalogued at $6 and $12, I would not pay over $2 for a standard one and $5 for a stunner with a good case like the one above (Many coins are munted and have broken cases). I got this is my lot of coins for $100 which included $120 worth of melt silver and 200 other coins, so I probably paid around $1 or 80 cents for it.

Neilithic you mentioned not being able to get $25 for a 49 Crown, catalogue prices are dreamer level and realistically I would pay only $10 - $15 for an AU 49 and about $7 for a VF one.

No more commemorative coins came out until 1967.

That year saw a large issue of the new decimal coins with some 120 million 1 cent coins, 75 million 2 cents, 26 million 5 cents, 17 million 10 cents, 13 million 20 cents and 10 million 50 cent coins issued for circulation (Figures Bertrand Catalogue 2018 -Anthony W Grant, Published by Philatelic Disributors) All this for a country with 2.5 million people!

Also issued were 425,000 commemorative dollar coins including 200,000 loose in cases, 175,000 for Unciruclated pink sets, 49,500 polished specimen and 500 Ballotted coins.

Here I show a nice Specimen set (the 49,500)



The plastic used was very poor quality until the early 80s and this is as good as they get. The coins inside are undamaged, but packaging is nasty 60s stuff.

Uncirculated sets (Pink label) came in these folders

Which explained the coins - Purple for 1965 Last Predecimal and Blue for 1967 blue decimal. These are common and not even worth $5 a set. Even the specimen coins are under $10 a set and you can see how polished they are here



These are from 1967, not bad for a 52 year old coin (Mostly minted in 1965/66 at Royal Mint)

For the years 1967 to 1969, you could also buy these plush cases for your coins (Whether Polished or standard)



This is a 1969 case



And a nice set inside for you, it would have cost about $5 or $10 in 1968, yet today that is all its worth in todays money.

Oh and the 10 cent coin was marked "One Shilling" below the mask until 1969, so it could help people transistion from the old system. This disappeared on 1970 and later dated 10 cent coins.

Starting in 1970 a new two tier standard for commemorative coins began.

Dollars were issued in Uncirculated Standard below, in large plastic forme cases like the 1953 Crown


From 1967 to 1988 (Except 1968 which had no dollar). The case had the year and what the dollar celebrated (1967, 71, 72, 73, 75, 76 were coats of arms, other years were royal events, games or Cook. In 1979 a bird series began and 1983 and 1986 saw 2 coins issued), These were sold as Reserve Bank souvenirs through post offices and in coin shops at about $5 each.

All of these are common now (Especially 1967, 69, 70 and 74 which were over 100k each issued, 80s are rarer as numbers issued dropped to around 40k)

Proof dollars were issued in ring like boxes and came in a plastic circular case in the box (Sorry I don't have any) and after 1977 were sterling silver.

Uncirculated coin sets from 1969 to 1988 came in thes ecolourful plastic wallets. Sets to 1971 were a floppy plastic and a more rigid one used from 1972.



Coins were not polished but were hand selected from circulation coins for nice mark free and coins with good eye appeal. Sadly the plastic in most pre 1980 sets has toned and stained and the coins are usually tarnished, especially the 1 and 2 cent copper coins. As you can see the sets had a card at top discusiing the dollar and the design, the bottom card had technical specifications. Coins sat in a sealed packet in a pouch.

Proof sets were better produced in a hard shell plastic case which was inpermable and these came in a more durable plastic pouch and case.



As you can see, mirrored proof coins were used rather than standard circulation pieces. Insert cards were the same as the uncirculated except stronger quality card and paper and they said "New Zealand Proof Coin set". Some sets, especially from the 1980s were also numbered and had cerificates of authenticity. As you can see tarnishing was less of an issue (The set above is 1976) and coins last well. However some cases hjave cracked and occasional marks and blackening may appear on coins.

In 1989 these style items were retired.

In 1989, the commemorative coins moved to a card case covering for the Uncirculated dollars and sets. In 1989 some $1 coins for the commonwealth games were in Plastic flips, but this was one year only.

Some special sets also used this packaging, Here is a 1992 set of 4 x $5 coins celebrating explorers.

The case contained a card with the coins sealed into the set behind cellophane which was tarnish proof and thus most post 1988 sets have coins in nice condition. More likely the glue dissects and coins can slip out like in this set.



The other change you may notice is the coins change from $1 to $5 in 1991 due to the $1 and $2 aluminium brass circulation coins being issued, 1c and 2c coins also disappear from 1989 onwards.

The 1990s also saw more than just a basic set of coins and a commemorative Dollar/$5 coin. Set celebrating birds, cities, events, bullion gold and silver and in the 2000s lord of the rings and stamp themed coins took over and now there is a plethora of non essential and non circulation coinage issued way over face value (And in my opinion un necessary). Market reforms in the 1980s saw our restricted economy go to a free market one.

Proof sets remained the same except now you stand them up vertically!

Finally now in the 2010s, some of the expensive collectables are extending into circulation coins. Here is an elusive roll of 2018 Armistice 50 cent pieces - notice the wrapper.



This has happened only with 2 50 cent designs, not like Australia with multiple 20c, 50c, $1 and $2 coins issued with commemorative reverses, some common and some not.

Still its the beginning of rampant commercialism. Hopefully you all enjoyed my romp through my country's coin history.

An excellent book written in 2016 by Robert Pepping taught me some more about our Predecimal coins (New Zealand's history coined).

So some more detailed notes thanks to Mr Pepping and some knowledge of my own on the story of our Predecimal coins.

1933 - 1936 The early years of NZ coins

The committee for a coinage came about in mid 1933 after several high profile cases of coin smuggling had taken place in New Zealand as the pound had been devalued twice.

It seemed smuggling money from the UK saw it get a 25% advance and stories of gas canisters full of silver halfcrowns (The coin of choice, Australia did not have them) and one woman who had a cardboard suitcase with holes for halfcrowns in its base and it was plastered over led for people to close the loophole and the coinage was designed between August and November 1933. A more bizarre case included a man who had accumulated nearly £1200 in halfcrowns and was ready to smuggle them to Australia (Where he would get 10% more in good silver coin - Australian silver was sterling whereas UK silver was only half). However the guy driving the taxi robbed him!

Still an earlier in venture in which he accumulated £1080 of silver coins, he took to Australia, got £1200 and when expenses of £85 were deducted for Taxi fares, food and a passage to Sydney on the "Wangaratta" were deducted, he made £35 by trafficking coins across the Tasman! Not bad in the Depression. The cost in muscle strain and fatigue for lugging 100+kg of coins around was not recorded!

The government allowed £5 in silver coin to leave the country per person though, yet in 1934 it was stopped with NZ coins in use.

A gorgeous collectible now, but in 1933 an illicit object!

Designs involved Art Deco and regal topics with George Kruger Gray winning out in most cases. The coins themselves included a Half Crown, Florin, Shilling, Sixpence and Threepence. There was no need for copper coins at this stage. Originally a commemorative crown was planned - but this took until late 1935 to be done. Kruger Gray had also designed the superlative Southern Rhodesian coinage a year earlier and the African spears on their 3d inspired the crossed Waihaka (War clubs) on the 3d.

Percy Metcalfe entered several art deco designs which were not chosen, how he got his designs on the 2/- and 6d of the Fijian coinage the next year and the head of King George VI for Dominions (More in next post), as well being the designer of the head of King George V which appeared on all Empire coins except the British ones.

All coins were minted at the Tower Mint facility and the first shipments of Half crowns arrived in late November 1933 in Auckland and Wellington. This was to alleviate the coin smuggling dilemma, which promptly stopped as the NZ coins had no premium outside New Zealand and were the only Dominion to use debased silver like Britain (Many colonies had debased silver or muck metal coins though).

The tiny Threepence next arrived in Feb 1934 followed by the Florin, Shilling and finally the Sixpence in May/July 1934 all dated 1933. 1934 dated coins arrived in the last months of 1934.

These first two years saw a very high mintage figures compared to many later years of the Silver era (1933 - 1946). 1935 saw much lower mintages of the 6d - 2/6 and the Crowns only arrived in Dec 1935 and Mar 1936. The 1935 3d was minted in 1936.

Collectors accumulated a set of 4 coins for 1935 to make up their sets with the crown and they wanted a 3d coin to complete. Originally they were not planned - but in March 1936 some 40,364 pieces were minted with the date 1935 to make up these sets. 364 were the scarce proof sets - the rest were in the standard finish.

In 1936 only 3d, 6d and Florins were minted as it was felt there were sufficient large coins in circulation - some 4½ million half crowns and 5 million florins were circulating in a population of 1.6 million. Yet mintage numbers for 1936 were high for the 2 lower coins - but very low for Florins and now the 1936 Florin is the 2nd rarest after the 1944 one.

1937 - A change of ruler

1937 saw a change of sovereign and it was decided that a full minting of coins would take place.

Unlike 1935 and 1936 - all 5 coins were minted and all in good numbers. There was an uncrowned effigy of the New King used. This was a new policy in which "White Dominions" got the uncrowned head of the King (Australia, South Africa, Canada, Southern Rhodesia) and "Crown Colonies" got a crowned head, mainly to show them who was boss (Don't shoot the messenger, it was the racist rhetoric of the time). Even though most these places had a sizeable white and mixed poopulation, the main users of coins were natives and many African and Pacific places even had holed low denomination coins.


NZ "Uncrowned" Reverse Fijian Florin showing crowned head used in colonies

Humphrey (Hugh) Paget designed the uncrowned effigy and Percy Metcalfe got the crowned one - so the Fijian coin was a complete creation for him.

The other big change was that our inscription on the coins unlike those of the other Dominions eliminated all the Latin script and used English. If you look at any KGVI coin of SA, Aus, Can, UK etc - you will see Latin.

The 3d's also had KG added, the 1933 - 1936 coins do not have them.

Not my coin Not a great shot but circle has initials. This would persist until 1965.

1938 saw no coins issued (Possibly as there was a enough and the Labour government was more focussed on social security rather than mountains of coin issues.

1939 saw only moderate sized issues of the 3d and 6d, however with the outbreak of war, the need for coinage became more pronounced all of a sudden.

1939/1940 The centennial coins

Also in 1939, the need for Bronze coinage was included as part of a Centenary celebration and a celebratory crown was commissioned, however the committee which included members of the NZ Numismatic society decided such a coin should be less exclusive and not have a face value mark up like the Waitangi Crown.

After debating, they decided on a Half Crown and a design competition was launched. The Two best entries were by NZ's well know stamp designers, James Berry and Leonard Mitchell. Mitchell won out with a design showing an attractive Maori woman in native dress with her arms stretched out across a Maori pa and on the otherside a cityscape of block shaped Art Deco buildings.

The winning design by Leonard Mitchell, adapted by Metcalfe

The coin's release was at the 1939/1940 Centennial Exhibition from Nov 39 to Apr 40 - it went ahead despite the war, as it and the coins came out before war was declared and we all know how naive Chamberlain was up to the last minute that "Mr Hitler would not declare war on us".

Despite the wishes, the number minted was only 100,800 and the 800 were proof coins. Most of the coins were stashed away by collectors and few circulated. Unlike most silver coins, their average condition is VF and not VG! Hence why even I can own the shiny piece above (It is only gVF/aEF as I noticed George has a bit of wear) - it's reverse is in the last post.

A set of 12 stamps was also issued with the design gongs shared between Mitchell and Berry.

There is 13 as the 7d was reissued as 8d in March 1940 for a rate increase. Both the coin and stamps emerged in Jan 1940.

Also demanded was copper coins to finish up the set. Prior to late 1939 when "1940" dated Pennies and Halfpence were issued, both British (Britannia) and Australian pence and halfpence circulated here. Possibly even South African copper too. At the same time a design competition was issued and again Mitchell won both designs with Berry's entries also considered.

The designs were adapted to coins by Metcalfe (After all these were stamp designers who used paper rather than plaster!) The Halfpenny showed a Maori hei tiki surrounded by Maori "Koru" patterns. The penny showed a Tui (Parson Bird) in a foliage and berries. The Tiki was a amulet worn by Maori with high prestige and an intergenerational artefact with much supernatural power. Tuis, were black birds with a beautiful call and it often was like a call to church.

Farthings were not required and in circulation were demonitised. Large quantities of the new copper coins arrived in late 1939 and proved popular.

THE WAR YEARS 1940 - 1946

Now with all 7 denominations circulating, the war years saw mostly low mintages of the coins. The war made supply of coins from London difficult and its possible that some were minted in Australia.

1940 saw a healthy number of coins and apart from no Halfpennies in 1943 - generous numbers of copper coins were issued, especially pennies - yet there was still a shortage of halfpennies in 1944 that got so bad - some stores handed back halfpenny stamps as change (Most stamps were printed in New Zealand so dodging enemy craft was not an issue).

1941, 1942 and 1944 saw very low numbers of silver coins issued and these dates are more collectible in higher grades now. 1944 was the worst year for numbers with barely 100 or 200k of the shilling, halfcrown and florin issued.

Notice how the 1st ll coins are pale silver and the rest are darker cupronickel

Surprisingly 1943 saw a much higher number of all coins except the Halfpenny issued. Whereas 1941 and 1942 along with 1944 saw only 100 - 200k halfcrowns issued - there were 1.3 million!

Unlike Fiji and Australia - no overflow minting was done in Amercian mints and the low numbers of coins also came from Britain loaning silver off the USA for lend lease programmes - this silver would need to be paid back after the war.

1945 saw the arrival of peace and that year and 1946 saw fairly high numbers of all 7 denominations issued.

Varieties in this era include the 1 Diamond 3d of 1942 and the broken back shilling of the same year. Also in 1946 was a "Flatback" florin which had a form closer to the later Cupronickel coins than the earlier silver ones.

1947 - 1952 Coin supply reaches a peak

The arrival of peace left Britain and Europe shattered and the American Marshall plan helped with recovery - economic growth came slowly with austerity lasting through the 40s and into the 50s. In New Zealand, high wool prices saw us emerge from the recession as early as 1949/50. What followed was 25 years of almost unending boom and wealth, along with inflation.

In 1947, they decided that silver would be removed from coins in Britain, New Zealand, Ireland and several other colonies. South Africa, Canada, Australia kept silver coins - but all had debased theirs by 1950 and the coins were not worth their face value in precious metal.

In September 1947 the first cupronickel coins arrived in New Zealand and these circulated alongside the silver, which was collected and sold to Britain and melted down to be paid back to the Americans. However a lot silver remained circulating and collectors of course kept coins as souvenirs.

1948 also saw the inscription change from George VI Emperor to King George the sixth, as he had lost India and thus was demoted to a King in August 1947. Incredibly Britain did not remove the Imperial wording until 1949! This means 1947 "silver" coins are a unique type as they are the only Cupronickel coins with "Emperor" on them and you can see a 1947 coin without even turning it over.

Pick the 1947 out here!

The era 1947 - 1951 saw jumbo issues of all denominations with some years being missed for some denominations. 1948 saw no copper coins, no shillings or 3ds issued in 1949 and apart from low numbers of 3d and 6d issued in 1950 - the other years saw large issues of 5 - 10 million coins per year for low denominations and 2 - 4 million for high denominations (Shilling - up).

Part of the reason was to ensure sufficient coins to replace the silver being taken out for melting. With Halfcrowns some 3.6 million alone were issued in 1950 - the largest year of issue. Some 1950 halfcrowns were stored in a smaller vault and not found until late 1963, hence why some 1950 coins are in VF rather than VG - Fine you usually get them in.
The 1950 coin saw two varieties, a thicker rim with initials near the rim on early coins (Like 1949) and thinner rim with initials further from rim (Like 1951).

No Florins or Halfcrowns were issued in 1952 and issues of these coins were minimal afterwards until 1961.

Many of the shillings, florins and halfcrowns from this era are usually very worn (Very Good - Fine is average and a VF coin is less encountered). Prices for superb copies of these coins - except for 1951 issues are very high - figure $200 for an UNC 1947 Half crown! - yet Fine coins can be found in piles for 50 cents each!

The best you will find without spending megabucks for coins of this era -

The penny was issued with a "Burnished" finish in 1945 - mainly to prevent hoarding in the war - but burnished coins may exist for this era too.

The Early Elizabethan era 1953 - 1960

This period was distinguished by low numbers of the Florin and Halfcrown.
In 1949 a crown had been issued for a supposed Royal Visit by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen mother, but this was interrupted by bad health and never took place. A propsed stamp issue was destroyed but 200,020 crowns could not be and the coins were sold at Post Offices in December 1949 at 5/- each. The coins also contained 50% silver the only post 1946 coin to do so.

Complete set of coins with a silver 1949 crown top left and 1953 crown left bottom.

By 1949 the price of silver had dropped back - but this would be the last silver coin until 1974 when some Proof dollars were issued in sterling silver.

In 1953 a similar coin was designed for both the royal visit and coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The crown this time was cupronickel and 250,700 were made. Unlike the 1949 they did not all sell out and people also baulked at having to pay 6d extra for the plastic case they came in.


1953 crown and the strapless effigy of the Queen 1953 - 1955

Standard coins had the Mary Gillick effigy of the Queen used and the first 1953 coins to arrive here were pennies in September. Apart from the change of sovereign, these coins had no difference to earlier ones. The year saw coins of all denominations issued, although only 200,000 each of the Florin and Half crown were issued. Again an English as opposed to Latin Inscription was used and the Queen wore a wreath, in colonial places, she again had a crown.

1954 saw no shillings issued and the Halfpence and Pennies had low numbers issued, the Halfpenny had the lowest mintage of its whole series (200k) along with 1955. Penny numbers were always high with around 1 million coins issued in 1954 and 1955.

The strapless effigy was replaced in 1956 with a more detailed strapped one, however strapless coins dated 1956 and even 1957 for the shilling exist and are scarce.

Plentiful numbers of all coins were issued in these years to the shilling, except no 1954 dated shillings were issued. No Florins or Halfcrowns were issued between 1953 and 1961 as sufficient stocks of 1947/51 coins were still in use and this explains why so many coins of these dates are well worn when found.

1961 - 1964 Winding Down

The last years of Predecimal coins saw them winding down in importance for several reasons.

1. Since 1933, their buying power had diminished, a Halfcrown in the early 60s had the buying power of a shilling in 1963. In the 30s, Silver coins were most commonly used, by the wealthy 60s, it was the 10/- and £1 banknotes, with £5 being more commonly used. Coins became kids pocketmoney.

In 1932, relief workers for the government were paid as little as 5/- a week and even a person with a stable job may only get £1 or a bit more. By 1950 the minimum wage for a full week was £5/10/- and almost no one was unemployed, by 1965 this was at least £15 for an adult male worker (Children, teens and women got much less), and overtime and heavier work could see some freezing workers earn more money than the white collar guys in the office, because they had fixed hours and the chainmen who were on 25% less worked overtime and they couldn't.

New Zealand was much more equal in the 50s and 60s socialism than todays capitalist greed where we have CEOs on $5 million or more a year and 30% of the population in casual employment earning below minimum wage (Me included). The unemployment and the casual gig economy only emerged in the Rogernomics of the 80s and brutal National governments of the 1990s and 2010s.

No longer for the rich man!

2. Full employment and an unlimited supply of paper money took over from coins - some 290 million £1 notes were issued between 1956 and 1967, yet under 50 million coins from 3d to 2/6 were made and most in 1964/65.

3. As early as 1960, New Zealand was gearing up for a currency change to Dollars and cents to fall in line with America and the rest of the world. The announcement was in 1963 and real preparations started in mid 1965.

1961 saw the first issue of Half crowns and Florins since 1953 and again quantities were mixed, 1.5 million florins were issued and were plentiful, but only 80k Halfcrowns were and this was possibly due to the fact this coin would have no place in the decimal system - whereas the Florin would become 20 cents. The 1961 Halfcrown is the lowest mintage of any halfcrown in the series, yet mucher cheaper to get than the scarce silver year of 1944 as it was late and most coins are in at least VF condition. A low number of sixpences were issued, but normal issued of all other coins.

1962 saw moderate numbers of all coins issued, the 600k of Half crowns was not high - but the highest mintage since 1951. Every other coin was in the millions. Proof like strikes of most coins exist from the later era of Elizabeth II.

1963 was an interesting year with very low numbers of all coins issued except for the Penny and Threepence. The Halfpenny and Shilling had decent numbers, but a very low number of Sixpences and Halfcrowns (800k and 400k ) and the Florin saw just 100k made - the lowest of its series and again not as rare as 1936 and 1944 Florins - but still a harder coin to find.
This was the last year Half crowns were made for circulation with just 400k issued.
63 was also the year all Australian silver coins were last minted except for some 1964 3d's. They were preparing for their decimalisation in very early 1966 and NZ got serious too with planning theirs for 1967.

This lot of 1963 coins I sold for $30!

1964 was a boom year again and coin numbers of all denominations except the half crown were high. 18 million pennies were issued, well above any other year (2nd highest were 1952 and 1958 with 10.8 million) and yet the coin shortage of 1965/66 still ensured it was not enough! Nearly 3 million halfpennies and over 6 million 3ds and 4 million sixpences were also issued. Shilling and Florin numbers also scraped into the 7 figures - no halfcrowns were issued as the denomination was phased out officially in 1965.
There was a design competition in 1964 onwards and the 50 cent coin was originally going to be silver one - but silver prices went upwards in 1964 and such a thing would be uneconomical (Australia still did one in 1966) - so a crown sized 50 cent was out of the question as it was too large (This had been tried in South Africa and was not popular).

The USA and South Africa issued silver circulation coins for the last time (Except the base silver 50c for a few years) and mostly retreated to clad coins for their main coins in 1965 (Okay the SA had a silver rand for a bit - but clad versions also were issued and by 1971 both countries were fully cupro nickel clad)

By early 1965 - Mr Dollar was set up and the Kiwis were watching how the Aussies were doing their decimilisation.

1965 - Last coins and sets

1965 - The last year that Predecimal coins for circulation were issued.
All the coins were issued this year however only 200,000 Pennies and Half Crowns were and these were set coins only. The other coins were all issued in jumbo quantities as they were needed for circulation until 1967. More than 5 million Halfpennies, 4 million 3d's a crazy 8.6 million 6d's and nearly 10 million florins and 4.5 million shillings. The Florins, 6d and Half penny had the highest ever numbers issued. There were still heaps of pennies from 1964 being released as well.

A standard 1960s accumulation of coins

The half crown was demonitised in mid 1965 - as it was desired a cupro nickel 50 cent coin would be issued with a different edge to distinguish it from the old Half crown. The goal was also to remove the Half crown from circulation before D Day as it was only worth 25 cents in new money and unscrupulous individuals could try and pass them off as whole 50 cent coins.

The Florin, shilling and sixpence would have exact decimal equivalents with the 20c, 10c and 5c and these coins would still circulate with the new coins after 1967. In fact as late as 2006 - you could still find these coins in change.

The 3d, Penny and Halfpenny would have no decimal equivalent and thus became obselete, after 1967 they were no longer legal tender. A 2½c was mooted as the public was not fans of tiny and fiddly coins and by 1965 it was practically worthless anyway. New 1c and 2c coins were worth 2.4d and 1.2d - and much smaller. A penny was 30mm and weighed 9.4 grams - a 1 cent coin was 17mm and weighed just 2 grams.

The 1965 coins were issued in sets - in 3 grades offered at different levels.

Blue set - look at that sheen! (Courtesy Pic click)
The top grade was the Blue label which was polished prooflike coins - specially polished blanks striked twice and removed from belts into packs. These cost £2 and sold fast (25k sets). However it was not a proper proof set - nowhere near as much care was taken compared to real proofs.

Green in middle - nice but not polished (Pic click image)
The second grade was Green label, a special set which featured unpolished blanks - but coins struck normally and struck twice with exceptional bloom and these cost £1 (75k). These coins were also not allowed to fall into the hoppers and thus have none of the knicks and marks of standard coins.


A standard pink set (Pic click)

The last grade was the Pink label sets - standard uncirculated -struck normally with the coins falling into hopper buckets and thus with dings (100k) and costing only 10/- each. Despite this the quality of these sets is still reasonable and its obvious mint employees went through the buckets picking out the nicer coins to make up the sets.

I myself have found some beautiful coins in these sets and the average price of one $5 - $10 puts the joy of having some uncirculated coins in everyone's hands! Plus dealers will sell the Half crown and penny at several $ each - many collectors have the pink set just to get these coins to complete their collections.

All 3 sets are quite easy to find, the blue ones harder - but the plastic inside usually stains or even tarnishes the Penny and Halfpenny and its hard to get nice examples. I usually liberate the coins on Green and Pink, but Blue sets had a better quality plastic. All 3 came in this folder.

(My photo)

The rarest was the 250 ballot sets - same as the Blue label quality (Maybe even real proofs like the business strikes of 1960/64). These are truly rare and cost hundreds - known as "Balloted sets"

(Image from Oceanicmint.com)

Initially when released at the beginning of 1966, they sold fast with the Blue sets selling out almost instantly. Whereas in 1935 people baulked at paying 7/6 for a Waitangi Crown, and even in 1953 the 6d surcharge for a plastic case caused grumbles - people were shrieking take my money for £2, £1 and 10/- for 6/4½d worth of coins!

Blue sets sold out before they got to NZ and green sets sold out fast too, pink sets took a bit longer, the Post office limited sales to 2 sets each (One pink and one green). However with deaths and coin estates coming on the market - these sets are now very common.

One funny tale was men standing outside post offices offering strangers £2 to go inside and buy a pink and green set of the coins and bring them back to him and they kept the 10 bob change! In most cases people were honest enough and did it. Some no doubt bought the coins and kept themselves or scarpered with the money!

A MASSIVE THANKS FOR ROBERT PEPPING TELLING US ALL THIS INFO IN HIS BOOK
NEW ZEALAND'S HISTORY COINED!
https://www.trademe.co.nz/books/nonfiction/antiques-collectables/listing-2562285214.htm?rsqid=1bc94d3e4a7c4204a0c8022b6c280f78-003

Buy your copy here!

1966 - 1967 Changeover Preparations

Through 1966, 1965 coins continued to arrive and were placed into circulation. Despite the worthlessness of copper pence and halfpence, there was a massive shortage of them, as they were needed for change, many prices ended in a halfpenny as the old retail trick of making something end in 9 looked more attractive than 0 existed here except ending with ½ or /11.

There were comic stories of parents raiding piggie banks of kids looking for pennies and the banks and government placed adds asking people not to hoard them and to return them to banks. Through 1966 it was realised the average family had 89 coins hidden on themselves!

There was the risk of souveniring as well, whilst many people pulled handfuls of change out to search for shiny, silver and rare dated coins. Even common ones were put aside by many and even the low value notes were also saved.

This led to the government purchasing and importing 6 million pennies from Australia. It seemed Australia had switched to the new currency in February and no longer needed piles of obselete pennies and halfpence. The silver coins had been sold back to England to pay for minting some of the coins (Australia normally did its own, but the 1966 output saw many coins also minted in London and Canada).

6 million pennies arrived in November and the coins were immediately used up.


In early 1967 there were suggestions to release the 5c, 10c, and 20c coins early to ease the shortage, but this was mooted - however the public saw the first set of coin designs by Morris Shurrock in early 1966, but were so off putted by the plain designs that a new set was designed in a haste by James Berry, which was much better. He finally got his recognition after being pipped by his rival Leonard Mitchell for the 1940 designs.

New designs

Some 145 million old coins were expected to come back in after the changeover, but barely half did. However collections of silver coins were immediately used as each halfcrown contained 1/9 of silver and these were sold back to the Royal Mint to help pay for the minting of the new currency.

The Royal Mint spent all of 1966 and the first few months of 1967 minting the 250 million new coins needed to replace the old currency. Fortunately Australia only needed a few million - but Samoa and Tonga were also changing to decimal currency and needed new sets of their first coinage issued as well. Both places had used the Pound sterling and had been using New Zealand and Fijian coins - but their own paper notes.


Samoa's first coins in the wake of New Zealand

In addition to the circulation coins, sets would also be made and sold and some 400,000 special $1 dollar crown sized coins were also minted, along with the sets of coins with a dollar inclduing only 2 grades this time, the polished blue label coins and the pink label standard coins.
Samoan coins and sets were also sold in New Zealand to collectors as Samoa had been a colony until 1967 and shared a special relationship with us.

Most workplaces had training campaigns and Mr Dollar was used by the government to get people used to the new coins and the D day changeover went smoothly. Many products and sales catalogues had prices in both currencies and the Weekly news even offered a make your own currency wheel converted prices between old and new currency.

1967 - 1972 Changeover and the Aftermath.

The old coins remained legal tender for 6 months and the changeover period ended on July 10 1968 (Local banks stopped redeeming old coins then), until July 10 1972 - the old coins could be exchanged at the Reserve bank in Wellington.

No longer welcome at your bank after 1968 - but they could go into change

Of course numerous old 6d, 1/- and 2/- coins went into circulation and as late as 06 these could still be found.

Once back at the Reserve bank in Wellington, old coins would have be sorted, all pennies and halfpence were sold to a large metal corporation. The cupronickel and silver needed to be sorted and the manual sorting was not quick enough, a machine which could detetc silver was used and coins fed into it would react and land in a bin for each type, Cupronickel gently fell in front, but silver coins zinged further and stories of people being hit in the head by a rogue half crown were not unknown!

Some 140 million old coins were returned and it is guessed to this day nearly that much is unaccounted for. Some could have been sold and melted down privately (Selling obselete coins for scrapmetal is not illegal and a penny had 7 cents of copper in it now, much more than its 0.83 cents of face value). Many more sits in collections and some may even be buried, rotting in the ground or sea and more bizarrely mixed into concrete or used as foundation deposits like this corroded penny I place in my letterbox base yesterday!



So ends the story of NZ's predecimal coins, I hope you all enjoyed reading it.

Finally in 1973, several proofs were handed over to the Royal Numismatic society of most dates and types of these coins.

Some updates - for you I have updated some of my stuff.

A green label set I now own.


This is the middle grade (Green - Specimen unpolished), shinier coins but unpolished

And now......


The Blue (Polished Prooflike) set, this took over a month to arrive due to issues with the dealer (Won't name for privacy and issues they are having).


Look at the quality of that finish! Only 1 in 8 of the sets issued were Blue.
The Blue sets cost £2, Green £1, and Pink 10/-.

Enjoyed reading your posts Moneytane, you are a walking talking encyclopedia on NZ coins. I recently started refereeing for NZ coins to assist Radrick007, so your info is invaluable.

I especially liked reading about the differences in the pink, blue green sets issued around 1965/6/7/8 etc. I have got all of them except a 1965 blue set but hope to eventually get hold of one.

I have also got most of the other uncirculated sets up to 2015 when they stopped issuing them. Although I know the 2014 & 2015 sets are unofficial ones. It is a pity they stopped them as they are all really nice sets.

I am missing 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004,2005,2006 & 2013 UNC sets which all seem to be quite expensive. Hope to get them all eventually.

Regards Mike

Agree with Mike. I really appreciate Moneytane's contributions here!

Thanks, I am still very much a student myself. It goes back to my life long obsession with money and coins. I grew up with these coins and thus my interest lays.

I also have high functioning autism and part of that is getting obsessive knowledge on "Special interests", one of mine is NZ coins and I feel its my responsibility to share what I know with everyone else. Free the knowledge I say!

Brismike - you are right, after the mid 90s the Coin sets were issued by the Collectibles division of NZ Post (Known as Real Aotearoa between 2004 and 2016) and they got greedy, ramping up prices and then dividing the sets in 2013, so you no longer got the set of coins with the $5. This was a recipe for disaster and hence the last official set in 2014 and private one in 2015.

The proof grade are still issued, but are basically unreachable price rise ($300+). Those dates you mention include the rare 2000 Pied Cormorant set, its the rarest of the modern ones costing around $150 for the UNC set and about $300 for the Proof set. The 2002 - 2007 are much easier, but by this stage mintage was down to a few thousand a year and by 2010 it was barely a thousand. They were practically minting them to order.

After all this blah blah, enjoy an image of my juicy 1935 3d, one of NZ's rarest coins!

Hello


I am happy to see so many enthusiastic New Zealand collectors. I've been focusing on WWII era six pence peices and I have found a few. I have noticed that they are hard to get in high quality that have not been hardly cleaned. About half the ones I get that I have graded come back detailed grades, much to my initial surprise. I am saving my pennies and waiting for the NY International show this coming January to see if I can get some higher quality examples. The more I buy and grade them, the more I learn about the coin and its peculiarities.

SLE

Quote: "neilithicman"​Most countries that used to use the pound sterling as their currency decimalised their coins in the 1960s-1970s. The UK was the only one that kept their currency name as the pound.
​
​NZ, Australia, Fiji, Jamaica, Rhodesia, etc changed to the dollar, South Africa switched to the rand, Samoa the Tala, Tonga the Pa'anga, Gambia the Dalasi, etc. All of them are a base 10 system rather than the confusing 240 pence to the pound system.

​
Ireland also retained the Pound as well - & changed to decimal currency on 15 February 1971 along with the U.K. - & 1 Irish Pound was equal to 1 Pound Sterling until 1979.

Malawi also changed to decimal currency on 15 February 1971 - to 100 Tambala = 1 Kwacha.

Both Cyprus & Malta also decimalised their Pound currencies - in 1955 & 1972 respectively.

Aidan.

However the last to switch over was Nigeria on January 1 1973, this is a record for the sterling system. Only them and Malta (16 May 1972) kept the Sterling system longer than the UK (Malawi switched in January 1971 and Rhodesia fully in 1970, although 1964 dated Rhodesian coins and stamps have values in cents and pence).

radars- teddy - Glad to hear it, seen you over on CCF. Yes the early NZ series is nigh on impossible to find in grades above EF and not cleaned. NZers for some reason loved cleaning coins until a few years ago.

Quote: "Moneytane"​However the last to switch over was Nigeria on January 1 1973, this is a record for the sterling system. Only them and Malta (16 May 1972) kept the Sterling system longer than the UK (Malawi switched in January 1971 and Rhodesia fully in 1970, although 1964 dated Rhodesian coins and stamps have values in cents and pence).
​
​radars- teddy - Glad to hear it, seen you over on CCF. Yes the early NZ series is nigh on impossible to find in grades above EF and not cleaned. NZers for some reason loved cleaning coins until a few years ago.

​
The 1964 Rhodesian coins remained in circulation right through to 1980, which is why they often turn up in the bottom grades.

It was 15 February 1971 that Malawi changed over to Tambala & Kwacha.

Aidan.

Radars_teddy - this shows difference between a cleaned shilling (VG) and a truly EF one.


EF and AU 1936 Sixpences, they were in a mixed lot from an auction house.


A truly EF sixpence for you - 1939


My best 6d before the 1950s - this 1944 is high AU/borderline uncirculated.


EF 1933 Halfcrown, I have many in gVF and aEF - but this is my only truly EF one.


EF/AU 1944 shilling, these would be the only NZ silvers I have above the high VF level.

Beautiful raw examples. I had discovered that many of the NZ WWII era coins I sent in for grading come back detailed and cleaned. I tried to figure out how I could idenpendtly tell if these coins are clean or not, and found that this is much harder to access than with US coins.

Look at this, for example. This highly well struck coin came back detailed cleaned

http://www.mrbrklyn.com/coins/nz_coins_09_2021/1933_sixpence_r_7290111.b.png

http://www.mrbrklyn.com/coins/nz_coins_09_2021/1933_sixpence_o_7290111.b.png

It is cleaned and badly coloured too, like some orange pink wash. Also that post should have been in the coin identification thread.

New Zealand coins sadly are mostly found cleaned, there was a craze for cleaning worn coins in the 1970s/80s coin bubble so people could hoodwink dealers. The silver coins of pre 1946 got heavy use in our warm wet climate and most were worn down to VG and Fine condition within a few years, the copper ensured many turned green and even black (Our coins were only 50% and 40% copper then muck metal), so hence many coins were shined up and dipped with silver solution. Some dealers even sold jewellery silver bath machines, that whizzed coins and gave them a shiny "bling bling" type appearance.

But you can fool the naive eye - you can not a trained eye of that of most dealers and experts, coins are graded on their wear not how shiny they are and no one likes a fraudently altered coin. This is part of the reason that most dates of coin before 1953 are common in VG, scarce in VF and basically unknown in UNC. Cupronickel survives better - but 99% of it is in high VG to VF condition with most coins landing in the Fine/good Fine category with many 60s pieces at high VF, although Fine and VG are found due to them staying in circulation longer as lower buying power decimal 5c, 10c and 20c coins.

There is nothing wrong in owning cleaned and shined up coins in your collection, as long as you know they are and are worth less than a coin in "natural" condition, and I feel its ethical if you sell a cleaned coin - you let the buyer know no matter how naive or germaine - that the coin is cleaned and thus not properly gradable. However if you are a beginner and know how to see a cleaned coin, a shined up VF coin for the price of a VG one is not a bad option and many dealers will even oblige by throwing a nice shiny VF coin at you if you are a serious collector building up a set of average coins. It seems like a kind gesture but really that dealer is adding a taster, that when you get more refined in your collecting and well off - you will start upgrading your average coins with VF and better ones.

Many shined up and cleaned coins are usually Fine to VF and palmed off to look UNC or AU. It does not help that obverses on the silver coins at least generally show almost no wear even at VF and even most of the design is clear at VG (The Kiwi and Huia are often flat by that stage but detailed at VF).

All I say is know what you buy before you buy. NZ is a cheap country for anyone wanting a set of coins in "Average" condition (Except the 1935 Threepence and Waitangi crown, there is little challenge in that condition, even rare coins like 1936 Florins, 1944 Halfcrowns are plentiful in G-VG and even Fine condition).

VF the condition most of my pieces in, is harder and nigh on impossible for coins like the 1941/42 3d and 6d and the 1936 Florin. EF is even harder and I count myself lucky that I have a few EF coins and quite a few near EF ones (Thats the limit unless you have bottomless pockets). AU and UNC exist for most types - but are rare and very expensive - figure around $1000 on average per coin between 1933 and 1946 and close to that for some of the 1947 - 1951 cupronickel coins as well.

the only orange is from the bright orange background

N#18188

 Not 10 minutes ago, I bought an UNC 1940 Half Crown for 25NZD (I'm in NZ). The same dealer has three others for the same price, all UNC. I would buy more but yesterday I shelled out 180NZD for a New Hebrides 1982 1-franc coin. That's the Emergency issue ‘Coconut War’ coin, of which most of the [300,000?] minted were melted down. N#3017. A bargain, I reckon. It's a pity that food and housing in this country are not as cheap as coins…

 edit: to correct link.

Hi All 

 

I've got a 1986 New Zealand 5 cent coin. However, this isn't listed in the catalogue - not that I can find anyway. Is this just an omission in the catalogue or do I have something rare? :) Photos below.

 

Thank you

 

N#5251 

 

 This is the search I did > 

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/index.php?e=nouvelle-zelande&r=&st=147-150-149&cat=y&im1=&im2=&ru=&ie=&ca=3&no=&v=5+Cents&a=1986&dg=&i=&b=&m=&f=&t=&t2=&w=&mt=&u=&g=&c=&wi=&sw= 

Issuer - New Zealand 

Face value - 5 Cents 

Year - 1986 

 1 result.  :) 

I must have been having a brain glitch - thank you