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Coins of the New Zealand dollar

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The coins of the New Zealand dollar are used for the smallest physical currency available in New Zealand. The current denominations are ten cents, twenty cents, fifty cents, one dollar and two dollars. The $1 and $2 coins are minted in a gold colour, the 20c and 50c coins are silver colour and the 10c coin is plated in copper.

Larger denominations of the New Zealand dollar are minted as banknotes of the New Zealand dollar.

History

Pre-dollar

Main article: New Zealand pound

Prior to 10 July 1967, the New Zealand pound, using the £sd system, was the currency of New Zealand. Coins of the pound tend to follow the size, weight, and composition of their British counterparts. The main coins in usage were the halfpenny (1⁄2d), penny (1d), threepence (3d), sixpence (6d), shilling (1s), florin (2s), and halfcrown (2s 6d).

First coins

Decimalisation of the New Zealand currency occurred on 10 July 1967, when the New Zealand pound was replaced by the New Zealand dollar at a rate of one pound to two dollars (10 shillings to a dollar). On the same day, new decimal coins were introduced to replace the existing pound coins. The first coins of the New Zealand dollar were 1c, 2c, 5c, 10c, 20c, and 50c. The 1c, 2c, and 50c coins were new sizes, with the 1c and 2c minted in bronze, and 50c in cupronickel. The new 5c, 10c, and 20c were the same size, weight, and value as the former sixpence, shilling, and florin coins. Indeed, until 1970, the 10 cents coin bore the additional legend "One Shilling".

The obverse designs of all the coins featured Arnold Machin's portrait of Elizabeth II, with the legend ELIZABETH II NEW ZEALAND [date]. The initial designs for the reverse sides of the coins introduced in 1967 were rejected by the Royal Mint. Several more designs were produced, followed by a vigorous public debate. James Berry's designs were eventually accepted for most of the coins,[1] although he was asked to rework his design for the 5c coin and Francis Shurrock's design for the 10c coin.[2]

In 1986, the portrait of Elizabeth II on New Zealand coins was changed to Raphael Maklouf's new portrait of the Queen.

Removal of 1 and 2 cent coins

See also: Withdrawal of low-denomination coins

Towards the end of the 1980s, the 1c and 2c were becoming of little value, and it was decided to withdraw these coins from circulation. The last coins of these denominations were minted for circulation in 1987, with collector coins being made for 1988. The coins were slowly withdrawn from circulation, before finally being demonetised (no longer legal tender) on 1 May 1990.

After the withdrawal of these coins, cash transactions were normally rounded to the nearest 5 cents, a process known as Swedish rounding. Some larger retailers (notably one supermarket chain), in the interests of public relations, elected to round the total price down (so that $4.99 became $4.95 instead of $5.00). Alternatively, many retailers rounded all their prices to the nearest 5 cents to avoid the issue entirely—so a New Zealand shopper often encountered products for sale at prices like $4.95.

Introduction of 1 and 2 dollar coins

On 11 February 1991, $1 and $2 coins were introduced to replace the $1 and $2 notes in circulation. These coins were minted in aluminium bronze, and were the first New Zealand coins to be minted to metric specifications.

At the same time, because the new $1 coin depicted a kiwi, the 20c coin reverse design was changed. The new 20c coins depicted a Māori carving of Pukaki, a chief of the Ngati Whakaue iwi. Coins with kiwi design, however, outnumbered coins with the new design until they were replaced with the new 20c coins, all depicting the later design, in 2006.

In 1999, Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of the Queen was introduced and the legend rearranged to read NEW ZEALAND ELIZABETH II [date].

Change to smaller coins

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On 11 November 2004, the Reserve Bank announced that it proposed to take the 5c coin out of circulation, and to make the existing 50, 20 and 10c coins smaller and use plated steel to make them lighter. The reasons given were:

  • The 5c coin was worth a third of what a cent was worth back in 1967, when New Zealand decimalised its currency.
  • Surveys had found that 50, 20 and 10c coins were too large and could not be easily carried in large quantities. The original 50c coin, with a diameter of 3.2 centimetres, was one of the largest coins in circulation worldwide, and the original 20c coin, New Zealand's second biggest coin at the time at 2.8 cm, is bigger than any current circulating coin (the biggest coin in circulation is the $2 coin at 2.6 cm).
  • The size of the 10c piece was too close to that of the dollar - in fact, it was so close that it was possible to put two 10c pieces in a parking meter together and receive $1 worth of parking time, or jam the meter and make parking free anyway. The advent of pay & display metering in larger cities, whereby one is required to use another meter if the first one is jammed, has largely stopped this practice.
  • The prices of copper and nickel used to mint the old coins were high and rising steeply, and the metal content of some coins exceeded their face value.

After a three-month public submission period that ended on 4 February 2005, the Reserve Bank announced on 31 March it would go ahead with the proposed changes. The changeover period started on 31 July 2006, with the old coins usable up until 31 October 2006.

The older 50, 20, 10 and 5c pieces are no longer legal tender, but are still able to be handed in at the Reserve Bank in Wellington, either in person or by post, in exchange for their face value.[3] Any old currency surrendered in this way for its face value must be paid directly into a bank account. This can be either a New Zealand account in New Zealand Dollars,[4] or a Foreign bank account in any of the following five currencies: USD, CAD, GBP, AUD, or EUR.[5]

In August 2005, the Royal Canadian Mint, which has minted Canadian coins in plated steel in the past, was selected by the Reserve Bank to make the new coins. The new coins have a unique electromagnetic signature which enables modern vending machines to determine coin counterfeiting and foreign coins Change For The Better Learning Resources, and it was estimated the changeover would remove nearly $5 million of foreign coinage from circulation.

The change to smaller coins is also advantageous to Australia, as the outgoing 5, 10, and 20c coins were of the same size and weight as Australian coins of these denominations, and were easily confused by shopkeepers and retailers, as well as being usable in Australian vending machines, parking meters, and coin deposit machines at banks.

Future

After the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, the Reserve Bank said it would exhaust its existing coin stocks before introducing new coins featuring King Charles III. Based on current stock levels, this would likely be several years away.[6]

Current coinage

The reverse designs of the current circulating New Zealand dollar coins. Image by Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

As of 1 April 2018, there are five denominations of coins in regular circulation: 10c, 20c, 50c, $1, and $2. All New Zealand coins are round, and use medallic orientation.

Commemorative and collectable coins are available from New Zealand Post as the agent for the Reserve Bank.[7]

There are two commemorative coins currently in circulation as legal tender. The first one was released on 23 March 2015 and has a monetary value of 50c. It features the standard obverse design but on the reverse it features two soldiers, one New Zealander and one Australian surrounded by two ferns and a mangopare (hammerhead shark) design; with the words "The Spirit of Anzac We Will Remember Them" and "1915–2015" in reference to the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli in 1915. It is the first circulating coin to feature colour, a black background around the soldiers. The coins are limited to 1,000,000 and were minted by Canadian Mint.[8]

The second one was released on 1 October 2018 and also has a monetary value of 50c. It also features the standard obverse design but on the reverse it features a RSA poppy in the middle, surrounded by a free formed remembrance wreath that has incorporated the silver fern and the koru; with the words "Eleventh Hour of the Eleventh Day of the Eleventh Month". It was issued to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day. It is the second circulating coin to feature colour. The coins are limited to 2,000,000 and were minted by the Canadian Mint.[9]

Value Technical parameters Description Date of issue
Diameter Thickness Mass Composition Edge Obverse Reverse
10c 20.50 mm 1.58 mm 3.30 g Copper-plated steel Plain Queen Elizabeth II A Māori koruru, or carved head. 31 Jul 2006
20c 21.75 mm 1.56 mm 4.00 g Nickel-plated steel "Spanish flower" Queen Elizabeth II Māori carving of Pukaki, a chief of the Ngati Whakaue iwi between traditional koru kowhaiwhai patterns[10] 31 Jul 2006
50c 24.75 mm 1.70 mm 5.00 g Plain HM Bark Endeavour and Mount Taranaki
$1 23.00 mm 2.74 mm 8 g Aluminium bronze Intermittent milling Queen Elizabeth II Kiwi and silver fern 11 Feb 1991
$2 26.50 mm 2.70 mm 10 g Grooved Kotuku (eastern great egret)
For table standards, see the coin specification table.

Past coinage

Changes to coinage in 1990 and 2006 has resulted in several demonetised coins. Coins have been demonetised for various reasons.

This is a list of demonetised coins:

Value Technical parameters Description Date of
Diameter Thickness Mass Composition Edge Obverse Reverse Issue Withdrawal
1c 17.53 mm 1.18 mm 2.07 g Bronze Plain Queen Elizabeth II Silver fern 10 Jul 1967 30 Apr 1990
2c 21.08 mm 1.7 mm 4.14 g Kowhai flowers
5c 19.43 mm 1.24 mm 2.83 g Cupronickel Milled Queen Elizabeth II Tuatara 10 Jul 1967 31 Oct 2006
10c 23.62 mm 1.70 mm 5.66 g (as today)
Legend reads "One Shilling"
(as today) 1970
20c 28.58 mm 2.22 mm 11.31 g Kiwi 10 Jul 1967
(as today) Dec 1990
50c 31.75 mm 2.33 mm 13.61 g Intermittently milled (as today) 10 Jul 1967

Other coins

Mule coins

Numerous mule coins have been accidentally minted, at least two of which have ended up in circulation.

The first instance occurred in 1967, when the two cent coin was accidentally minted with the obverse of the Bahamian five cent coin.

Subsequent examples include a New Zealand 1981 5c obverse muled with a Canadian 10c reverse and a 1985 50c obverse muled with a Canadian $1, both of which are extremely rare.

Another example occurred in 2000, with ten known instances of the commemorative $5 coin found in uncirculated sets. This coin had the pied cormorant on the reverse side, as did the other $5 coins of the year, however the obverse was from Solomon Islands.

Though not technically a mule, a mix-up of a different kind arose in 1975 when some NZ 20c coins were accidentally struck on scalloped blanks intended for the Hong Kong $2 coin. The obverse and reverse dies are correct for the NZ coins; only the blank is the incorrect shape.

An earlier reported instance of a mule involving the small-sized 20c coin introduced in 2006 with a Canadian 5c most probably relates to reports in the press of the discovery of Canadian 5c coins in mint rolls of NZ 20c coins, mainly in the Taranaki region; this was simply a packaging error and no actual muled coins are known.

Commemorative coins

According to the Reserve Bank Act 1989, there are limits on the amount that constitutes legal tender:[16]

  • coins of a denomination of $10 or more, there is no limit
  • coins of a denomination of $1 or more but less than $10, the limit is $100
  • coins of the denomination of 5 cents or more, but less than $1, the limit is $5

Use of other countries' coins

Due to regional travel and the fact that many other former British colonies around the world use coinage systems with British-derived origins of sizing and weight, many Fijian, Samoan, Singaporean, South African, and especially Australian coins had been in daily circulation in New Zealand despite not being official legal tender. It is of note that the United Kingdom itself does not use these sizes of coins any more, and there has been the odd case of foreign coins appearing in a customer's change. The consistently similar but not significantly higher value of the Australian currency and the obverse side of Australian coins being almost the same as New Zealand coins also didn't discourage this practice, with millions[citation needed] of 5, 10, and 20 cent Australian coins having been used in New Zealand in an identical manner to their true counterparts. These coins could circulate for long periods without being recognised. The coinage size and material changeover (see section Change to smaller coins above) of 31 July to 31 October 2006 means these foreign coins can no longer be accepted interchangeably, though the new 10 cent coin strongly resembles the British one penny coin in size, weight and appearance and the unchanged one dollar coin remains very similar to the Fijian counterpart. There is also occasional confusion between the New Zealand one-dollar coin and the Australian two dollar coin, and similarly between the New Zealand two dollar coin and Australian one dollar coin, on account of the coins' similar sizes and weights.

Minting figures

Minting figures for coins in the range from 1 cent to 2 dollars, between the years 1967 and 2022:[17]

Year 1c 2c 5c 10c 20c 50c $1 $2
1967 120,000,000 75,000,000 26,000,000 17,000,000 13,000,000 10,000,000
1968
1969 20,510,000 10,260,000 3,000,000 2,500,000
1970 10,060,000 11,152,000 2,046,000
1971 10,000,000 15,050,000 11,520,000 2,808,000 1,600,000 1,123,200
1972 10,040,000 17,510,000 20,000,000 2,024,000 1,516,000 1,408,000
1973 15,040,000 38,550,000 4,043,000 3,533,000 3,051,000 2,531,000
1974 35,020,000 50,000,000 18,023,000 4,627,000 4,535,000 1,223,000
1975 60,000,000 20,000,000 32,000,000 7,000,000 5,000,000 3,800,000
1976 20,000,000 15,000,000 5,000,000 7,500,000 2,000,000
1977 20,000,000 5,000,000 7,500,000 2,000,000
1978 15,000,000 20,000,000 16,000,000 2,500,000 2,000,000
1979 35,000,000 6,000,000 8,000,000 2,400,000
1980 40,000,000 10,000,000 12,000,000 28,000,000 9,000,000 8,000,000
1981 10,000,000 25,000,000 20,000,000 5,000,000 7,500,000 4,000,000
1982 10,000,000 50,000,000 50,000,000 18,000,000 17,500,000 6,000,000
1983 40,000,000 15,000,000 2,500,000
1984 30,000,000 10,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000
1985 40,000,000 22,500,000 14,000,000 8,000,000 6,000,000 2,000,000
1986 25,000,000 18,000,000 12,500,000 5,200,000
1987 27,500,000 36,250,000 40,000,000 21,000,000 14,000,000 3,600,000
1988 16,000,000 23,712,000 12,500,000 8,800,000
1989 36,000,000 9,000,000 5,000,000
1990 – 1c and 2c withdrawn; $1 and $2 introduced
1990 5,000,000 40,000,000 30,000,000
1991 10,000,000 10,000,000
1992
1993
1994 26,720,000
1995 33,280,000
1996 19,008,000 12,960,000
1997 14,000,000 8,000,000 1,000,000
1998 8,000,000 6,000,000
1999 25,040,000 5,050,000
2000 26,000,000 11,000,000 5,000,000
2001 20,000,000 10,000,000 5,000,000 3,000,000
2002 40,500,000 10,000,000 7,000,000 3,000,000 8,000,000 6,000,000
2003 30,000,000 13,000,000 2,500,000 4,000,000 6,000,000
2004 15,000,000 6,500,000 8,500,000 2,000,000 2,700,000
2005 2,000,000 4,000,000 1,000,000 2,000,000 5,000,000
2006 – 5c withdrawn; 10c, 20c and 50c downsized
2006 140,200,000 116,600,000 70,200,000
2007 15,000,000
2008 80,000,000 11,000,000 8,000,000
2009 30,000,000 20,000,000
2010 10,000,000
2011 20,400,000 8,000,000
2012 20,400,000
2013 27,000,000 10,080,000
2014 17,000,000 23,000,000 2,300,000 7,000,000
2015 21,600,000 18,000,000 12,700,000 10,000,000 3,000,000
2016 11,100,000 6,000,000 3,000,000
2017
2018 6,000,000
2019 37,800,000 40,750,000 21,000,000 12,960,000 12,200,000
2020 19,200,000 8,000,000 8,200,000 8,760,000 5,900,000
2021
2022 10,000,000 8,000,000

See also

References

  1. ^ James Berry and New Zealand’s 1967 Decimal Coins, Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
  2. ^ Jane Dodd and Gail Keefe, Penny Lane: From the Elam Archive; the coins that almost were[permanent dead link], The University of Auckland News, Issue 15, 25 August 2006.
  3. ^ "What to do with damaged or old currency - Reserve Bank of New Zealand". Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Returning old or damaged currency form - NZ" (PDF). Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Returning old or damaged currency form - international" (PDF). Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  6. ^ Edmunds, Susan (9 September 2022). "What happens now to New Zealand's coins and bank notes?". Stuff. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  7. ^ Coins of New Zealand for collector's. stamps.nzpost.co.nz.
  8. ^ "ANZAC circulating commemorative coin". Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
  9. ^ "Armistice Day Coin". Reserve Bank of New Zealand.
  10. ^ Tim Watkin, Figure of unity, NZ Listener, 13–19 November 2004, Vol 196, No 3366. Accessed 2007-06-14.
  11. ^ "Worldcoingallery.com". worldcoingallery.com. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Worldcoingallery.com". worldcoingallery.com. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  13. ^ "Worldcoingallery.com". worldcoingallery.com. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  14. ^ "ANZAC commemorative coin". Reserve Bank of New Zealand. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  15. ^ "Armistice Day commemorative coin". Reserve Bank of New Zealand. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  16. ^ The Act governing currency issue in New Zealand.
  17. ^ "Coin mintings - F4". Reserve Bank of New Zealand. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
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