An Introduction To New Zealand Decimal Coins 1967 - 2020

It almost looks like one of those shrunken coins...

http://www.capturedlightning.com/fr...esting1.html

50 cents: Early large size 1967 - 2006


50 cents - Large size

Years Issued: 1967 - 2005
Dates not issued for circulation: 1968, 1970, 1983, 1989 - 2000

Size: 31.75mm
Weight: 13.61 grams
Metal: Cupro Nickel

Edge: 10 Partitions with 5 x interspersed reeded and plain edging. Coin is perfectly round. The reeded portions are larger than the plain edging.

Design: Captain Cook's Ship, the Endeavour on her first voyage around the cone of Mt Egmont/Taranaki in 1769/70 with word "Endeavour"
Designer: James Berry FRPS

Total minted: 81,585,200

From 1967 to 1990, this handsome coin was the largest in the series and the highest face value. The $1 and $2 denominations were notes. The coin when released was worth basically a ticket to the movies with popcorn, a decent meal or a full tank of gas and as one old uncle said to me "In the 60s you went to the pub with 50 cents and walked out drunk"

Of course there were confusions with the 20 cents given that it was 2½ times as much and no doubt many storekeepers got swizzed. The coin was only 3mm larger and 2 grams heavier and was in fact smaller than a half crown. As you read above, there was a reticience towards large coins and small value banknotes outside poorer Island nations like Fiji and Tonga.


Too close in size!

Overtime the 50 cent lost its value, so that by 1985 it could buy a 50 gram bag of chips or a can of soft drink, by 1990 it could only buy a tiny container of milk and in 2005 it was a standard postage stamp. Still the 50 cent coin was one of my favourites as a child and I always gravitated for them over the worthless in my opinion 20 cents.


This shows the old 50 cent in relative size to the 20, 10 and 5 cent coins

The coin comes with several varieties as well, some 1967 coins have a dot between the 1 and the bust of the queen, which is not that rare (750k of 10 million coins), however in UNC it is as most 1967 pieces circulated right through to 2006 and by then most were Fine to VF.

Also in 1969 a special set 50 cent coin had an engraved edge like the 1969 dollar (Cook Bicentenary 1769 - 1969), although this coin did not technically circulate, the 1969 Cook anniversary widely circulated and some ended up outside of their sets. This coin is easy enough to find and being a set coin - usually UNC or at least EF.

In 1985 is a very rare Canada reverse mule, which is so rare no slaes have been noted, just 1 or 2 coins found in circulation, the mule was the Obverse from Canadian clad $1 coins of the era.

10 million coins were issued initially in 1967, just 3.5% of the 261 million coins issued and the least number for one coin.

Issues of the coins were fairly low through to the 1980s with 1 to 3 million most years. But like the 20 cents, as the coin lost value more came out with 8 million in 1980 and 6 million more in 1982. They were issued most years through to 1988, but after that year, none were issued for circulation until 2001!

13 years was a record period for any single NZ circulation piece, but there was such a glut of coins minted in the 80s and the durable cupro nickel, coupled with its higher face value meant the coins lasted longer. As I proved with my own experience, it was out of touch of the kiddie's plaything until the millienium and was not as useful say as a 20 cent which bought bubblegum, a spacies game or those ride on toy train, duck, aircraft things.

Most working class parents at least were unlikely to give their kids 50 cents for no reason. It was too much for casual giving and not enough for birthdays and Xmas in house (There's a photo of me in Xmas 84, aged 8 holding up a $2 note feeling like Richie Rich!).


20 and 50 cent coins from 2005 - Reverse photo in 20 cent part.

The 2000s saw a renewed need for it as a change piece and some 12.5 million pieces came out every year between 2001 and 2004. But many people saw it as too large and cumbersome given its low value, also it was only a middle coin now and much larger than the $1 and $2 coins.

The large 50 cent was therefore resigned to history when it was reduced in size in 2006 and the old coins were phased out between July and September that year. 2005 did see another mintage of 1 million coins, but only 500k came out and these are scarce, again like the 2005 20 cent coins, I was lucky to find two at the shop I worked at and have kept them to this day.

Next the small 50 cent coin.

Excellent write-up for the fifty cents.

All the ANZAC 50c coins I ordered all came with CoA too.



Steve :)

The Small Size $1 coin

This post is about the small size $1 coin that is in circulation, not the large Cupro nickel coins sold as commemoratives. I will post about these later.


The $1 coin design

Dates issued: 1990 - 2020
Years not issued for circulation: 1992 - 1999, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016 - 2018,
The coin appears in every year set up to 2016 as a set coin though.

Size: 23mm
Weight: 8.00 grams
Metal: Aluminium Bronze
Edge: Like the 50 cent, reeded portions separated by plain edging

Actual date of release: 11 February 1991

Design: A kiwi surrounded by Ferns
Designer: Maurice Conly

Number minted: 113,500,000 (Up to 2015, does not include 2019)

The $1 and $2 coins came about after double digit inflation year on year during the late 1970s and all of the 1980s. It seemed that $1 and $2 notes in circulation were being heavily used and becoming very tatty and dirty fast. Surveys conduceted in the late 80s showed a $1 note lasted on average just 18 months and it was uneconomical replacing them all the time. By 1989 a $1 could only buy a Moro bar, a can of drink or a battered hot dog (Of course some unscrupulous places started charging $1.20 and so on up).

GST introduction in 1986 and a increase in 1989 saw the dollar's value further erode and it was floated in 1984, at the time our dollar was worth just 26pence and 40 US cents. It was obvious that a coin was needed in place of worthless notes.


A selection of $1, $2, $5 and even old £1 and 10/- notes, High Tiara ones are 60s, 70s, lower Tiara ones are 1980s

Coins for dollar and pound amounts had been introduced in many countries in the 80s, Australia got the $1 in 1984 and $2 in 1988 (They shot themselves in the foot by making their $1 large and thus having to make a small fat $2 coin). The Brits added their first £1 coin in 1983 and many European nations also added high face value coins in the 80s like a Dutch 5 Guilder, Austrian 20 Schilling and Spanish 500 Pesetas. In every case the coins were not the largest in size and were usually Aluminium Bronze or Stainless steel.

In reality such coins cost almost nothing to make and had very little metal value and were just a promise to pay the amount stamped on the metal disc. Aluminium Bronze was popular as it looked gold coloured and harked back to the old Gold, Silver, Copper standard, despite being of cheaper metals than the "Silver" coins, they looked the part as valuable coins. In fact many feeble minded New Zealanders originally thought the coins were made out of real gold!

The size of these coins was usually small and squat and quite thick. The biggest advantage was price, minting cost a few cents and the metal was about 1 cent, Aluminium was the cheapest and nastiest metal around. Also a coin would last 20 years or more, whereas a note did not.


28 years and going strong!

So in 1989 the choice was made to withdraw the notes and the low value 1c and 2c coins, so no more than 6 coins came into circulation at once. The $1 and $2 would be minted at The Royal Mint and the first order for 40 million $1 coins and 30 million $2 coins was ordered.

In January 1990, the changes were announced and in December that year it was mentioned that $1 and $2 notes would be withdrawn and the new coins would be issued in February. Designs were not released to the public, just that the new coins would be gold coloured and show birds. The new 20 cents showing Pukaki was released on Dec 17th 1990.

Finally on 11 February the new coins were released to banks and they circulated slowly. I remember pestering my Dad to have one and finally around the 20th, ran an errand to the shops and got a $2 piece in the change. The old notes were allowed to circulate until August 17th 1991 and they were officially demonitised on June 30 1992, part of a programme when all the Banknotes left ($5 - $100) were being modernised to a new series showing NZers on 4 of the notes and the Queen only on the $20.

The 1991 release included coins dated only "1990", this was large with 70 million coins in total and 28,000 sets were issued including 10k of the last $1 and $2 note and the first $1 and $2 coins.

There was also the new set of 6 coins as a souvenir set (It was not an official 1990 (150th anniversary - 1 off designs) or 1991 (World cup Rugby and 1st ever annual $5 coin) set, but a one off with 6 coins dated 1990. These included the ordinary 5, 10 and 50c and also the new 20c, $1 and $2 coin.

The souvenir set

You can also see a close up of it in the first post on this thread.

1991 saw a further issue of 10 million coins of each value and the coin became well received with a nice kiwi and the small size and distinct gold colour made it stand out. It was thicker than the silver coins and thus was less confused with the 10 cent coin which was marginally larger. These 1991 dated coins emerged in the middle of 1992!

Then we enter the 1990s coin drought in which no coins were issued for years and then only 5c and 10c. In 2000 some 5 million coins were minted and these showed the new portrait of the Queen. Further issues of a few million each showed up in the 2002 - 05 era, then nothing until 11 million coins in 2008 and 10 million in 2010. In 2013 and 23015 10 - 11 million more came out each year. I also noticed 2019 dated coins, but do not have numbers minted for those yet.

A 2019 dollar taken out of change

The $1 coin is popular and well used, along with the $2 its the longest running coin in circulation with nearly 30 years since it was released, many have survived well with most of the 1990 and 1991 dated coins in Fine to VF condition - their durable construction means that few are damaged and it has wide use in vending machines, parking meters, as change and we need a lot of them each year.

There is only one major error and this was in 2004 where the Obverse of a $1 coin was on the obverse of a 10 cent coin and it looked like a double rim due to the fact the $1 is marginally smaller. It is scarce but not rare. You can also see doubling up on the designers initials.

Sorry my bad, noticed some were sold with those folders.

Redlock said



And me, I need some too.

Steve :)

The $2 coin



The $2 coin with the Kotuku surrounded by Koru

Years issued: 1990 - 2020
Dates not issued: 1992 - 1996, 2000, 2004, 2006/7, 2009/10, 2012/13, 2017/18

Metal: Aluminium Bronze
Size and weight: 26.5mm, 10 grams
Edge: Outside reeded edges with central recess with central dots


The edge of the $2

Design: A Kotuku (White heron) in flight surrounded by Maori Koru (Interlinking curvilinear) designs.
Designer: Maurice Conly

Number minted: 121,010,000

The $2 is currently our highest face value coin in circulation and easily the most popular and most used. There are almost as many of them as the $1 as the gap to the $5 note means sometimes 2 of these coins may be required in change.

It's use in vending machines is important too and sadly its the coin of choice for the Electric Money Vacuum cleaners (Pokie, fuitie machines), although lately they have moved to cash and vouchers. Sadly many of these coins disappear down the shiny metal throats of these parasite machines from people who can not afford to (I gave up pokie machines 10 months ago after 23 years of addiction!).

The story of them coming about is the same as the $1 coin and the $2 coin was released at the same time on February 11 1991 with 30 million coins dated 1990.

The public embraced the coin right away and it became very popular and was minted in more years than the $1. The design which is beautiful was based also on a 1974 $1 commemorative coin design for NZ Day and the coin design here is similar but larger (A James Berry design - he died in 1979 so could not design these coins).

1991 saw the initial issue of 30 million 1990 dated coins and then a further 10 million dated 1991 in mid 1992. The coin drought and the rise of $2 fed pokie machines and vending machines for snacks and soft drinks (By this stage the average snack food item was between $1 and $2 and $1 was not enough), meant that 1 million further coins were issued in 1997. These were not minted at The Royal Mint and were done in South Africa, the coins very very slightly different and caused frustration as the machines both gambling and snack rejected them along with parking meters. The media had a usual panic looking for extremes such as the following

1. A gambling addict who had sunk $500 of $2 coins into a machine and lost, but his 1997 $2 coin was rejected, he left to get more money, meanwhile a little old lady came along, put one coin in and won a jackpot of $996. The guy went psycho and bashed her with a chair.

2. A guy feeding a parking meter had his $2 1997 coin rejected and left the meter as he had an urgent meeting, he came back to find a $50 ticket a few minutes later. Even worse was he had fed the coin in (This is pre paper and computer operated metering) and expected it to stay there it had slid through and was still on the ground.

3. Numerous vending machines had to be replaced when the dodgy $2 coins got stuck and sent the machines into a tilt.

Some of these stories must have been far fetched as there were just 1 million of the coins made. The mint went into damage control and tried to recall the coins, but many survive and they are not that rare. the main problem is their edges are a bit flat. 6 million fresh coins dated 1998 came out from The Royal Mint.


A 1998 $2 coin with the higher edge to keep our gambling addicts happy

The media did not help and gambling was a hot button issue in the mid/late 1990s with the opening of casinos, the rise of pokie machines in every pub and even a series of scratch and win phone cards called Telefono majic, which offered a prize of $1000 in return for $5 minutes of calls that included a $2 connection fee per call!

The cards got banned not for the gambling component but the fact they were targetted at Pacific Islanders (Telefono is Samoan for Telephone) and one Pasifika family spent $5000 on the things and never used the calls. The cards mostly were not winners and at most gave the holder $5 more worth of calls (With the extra connection fee, GST and minimum call limits).

Fairly regular numbers of $2 coins emerged in the following years with mintages of 3 to 8 million most years. So that by 2020 we have over 100 million in circulation and they are holding up well.


Useful to find in your change

Like the $1 coin, these hold up well but they lose their golden colour fast to fade to a greyish yellow and then the brass colour wears off and this is noticeable on the high points of the Queen's effigy.


Wear sees colour fading

To date all the $1 and $2 coins back to 1990 remain legal tender although coins before 2000 are less seen and seldon in conditions over VF (The pair above are a bit below VF and were pulled out of change). There are also no plans to release a $5 coin, but with now the $2 being the largest in physical size, any such coin would need to be bimetallic ring thing, polygonal or slightly larger.

That concludes the current series and next we hit the Non Circulating large dollars!