An Introduction To New Zealand Decimal Coins 1967 - 2020

Tane, well done on those NZ coin rolls. I bought 2 for face
value when they were first issue, and traded them all around the world. I was surprised when an envelope of certificates of Authenticity followed in the mail. One for each coin.

Steve :)

My first visit here...fascinating stuff!

I'm sure you can add more to the story, Princetane, but as I recall learning at the time, the mint covered every square inch of the country -- but especially schools -- with these plastic sets so folks could practice with them in order to transition smoothly into the new monetary system.



Common as dirt nowadays, I'm sure, but it's fascinating to think about all the little things that have to be taken into account when you're decimalizing a whole country...vending machines, redemption schemes for the old coins, the Tooth Fairy, balancing your checkbook, etc.

Fascinating!

Happy Decimal Day NZ! (As an Anglo-Kiwi I should have known that!)

I only remembered because of the Radio this morning and remembered all of you mentioned the 50th and 55th anniversary of Australia and UK adopting it when we did the Coin of the Year thread.

It was actually made in England in those days. Made in China started around 1990 and there was a period between early 1970s to early 1980s, Hong Kong was the junk country, then Taiwan in the 1980s (Remember those gold made in Taiwan stickers).

It was just people in the 1960s had no idea about how corrosive PVC and Pliofilm was then. Only in the 1980s did they see what was happening. In the 1960s, PVC plastic was seen as lightweight, clean, cheap and endless (People were less informed and cared less about the earth then).

The hippy wave of 1967 - 1969 brought environmental consciousness to the fore and 1970 it was all about saving earth, although Pollution was the first devil then.

The mid/late 80s saw the rise of the CFCs and greenhouse gasses, the 90s brought recycling mania and this "Sustainable" ethos started in the Al Gore 2000s era.
The 2010s brought all the bans on single use plastics and this was disastorous as Covid ruled the 20s. A disease best dealt with single use plastics for masks, vaccines, and vials!

Thanks for this thread Princetane , just found it.
A little too late for me I feel.
Bought a 1968 'proof' set the other day on the spur of the moment as it seemed cheap , I have no knowledge about N.Z coins.
Think it might be a polished set?
I will post a photo when I receive it .
I should have done some research first.

Crab eater. If your set has a Blue tab saying "Polished Specimen coins" its the proof and the coins will appear mirror like in surfaces.

If its a pink label that says Uncirculated coins it is not the Proof set.

However in 1968, 40k of the Proofs and 35k of the Uncirculateds were issued, so either is great and both are worth the same as they were just muck metal (No silver).

More desirable is ensuring the copper 1c and 2c are not toned and the plastic pliofilm is not all spotty. See my notes in this thread about these sets and the optional plush case you could buy with them!