Coins of the New Zealand dollar facts for kids

The coins of the New Zealand dollar are the physical money used in New Zealand. They are the smallest amounts of money you can hold. Right now, we have coins for ten cents, twenty cents, fifty cents, one dollar, and two dollars. The $1 and $2 coins look gold, the 20c and 50c coins are silver, and the 10c coin is copper-coloured.

Bigger amounts of New Zealand money come as banknotes (paper money).

History of New Zealand Coins

Before the Dollar

Before July 10, 1967, New Zealand used the New Zealand pound. This system was like the old British money, with pounds, shillings, and pence. The coins were similar in size and weight to British coins. Some common coins were the halfpenny, penny, threepence, sixpence, shilling, florin, and halfcrown.

The First Dollar Coins

New Zealand changed its money system on July 10, 1967. This change is called decimalisation. The New Zealand pound was replaced by the New Zealand dollar. One pound became two dollars.

On that same day, new decimal coins came out. These were 1c, 2c, 5c, 10c, 20c, and 50c coins. The 1c and 2c coins were new sizes and made of bronze. The 50c coin was also a new size and made of cupronickel. Interestingly, the new 5c, 10c, and 20c coins were the same size and value as the old sixpence, shilling, and florin coins. For a few years, the 10c coin even said "One Shilling" on it!

All the first coins showed a picture of Queen Elizabeth II. This picture was made by Arnold Machin. The other side of the coins had different designs. These designs were chosen after a lot of public discussion. Most of the designs were created by James Berry.

In 1986, the Queen's picture on the coins was updated. A new portrait by Raphael Maklouf was used.

Saying Goodbye to 1 and 2 Cent Coins

By the late 1980s, the 1c and 2c coins were not worth much anymore. So, the government decided to stop using them. The last of these coins for everyday use were made in 1987. They were slowly taken out of circulation. On May 1, 1990, they were officially "demonetised." This means they were no longer legal tender (official money).

After these coins were gone, cash payments were usually rounded to the nearest 5 cents. This is like "Swedish rounding." Sometimes, big shops would round prices down to be nice to customers. Other shops just set their prices to end in 0 or 5 cents.

Hello to 1 and 2 Dollar Coins

On February 11, 1991, new $1 and $2 coins were introduced. These coins replaced the $1 and $2 paper notes. They were made of a metal called aluminium bronze. These were the first New Zealand coins made using metric measurements.

Because the new $1 coin showed a kiwi, the 20c coin's design was changed. The new 20c coins showed a Māori carving of Pukaki. He was a chief of the Ngati Whakaue people.

In 1999, the Queen's portrait changed again. A new picture by Ian Rank-Broadley was used. The words around her picture were also rearranged.

Smaller Coins for a Modern Age

On November 11, 2004, the Reserve Bank announced big changes. They planned to remove the 5c coin. They also wanted to make the 10c, 20c, and 50c coins smaller and lighter. These new coins would be made of plated steel.

Here's why they made these changes:

• The 5c coin was worth much less than when it first came out in 1967.
• People said the 10c, 20c, and 50c coins were too big. They were hard to carry in large amounts. The old 50c coin was one of the biggest coins in the world!
• The old 10c coin was too similar in size to the $1 coin. This sometimes caused problems with parking meters.
• The cost of the metals (copper and nickel) used in the old coins was going up. Sometimes, the metal in a coin was worth more than the coin itself!

After asking for public opinions, the Reserve Bank decided to go ahead. The change happened between July 31 and October 31, 2006. After October 31, 2006, the old 5c, 10c, 20c, and 50c coins were no longer legal tender. However, you can still exchange them for their value at the Reserve Bank in Wellington.

The new coins were made by the Royal Canadian Mint. These new coins have a special electronic "signature." This helps vending machines tell them apart from fake coins or foreign coins. This change also helped remove about $5 million worth of foreign coins from circulation.

The smaller coins were also good for Australia. The old New Zealand 5c, 10c, and 20c coins were the same size as Australian coins of those values. This often caused confusion for shopkeepers and could even be used in Australian vending machines. The new, smaller New Zealand coins stopped this mix-up.

What About the Future?

After Queen Elizabeth II passed away in 2022, the Reserve Bank said they will use up all their current coins first. Then, they will start making new coins that feature King Charles III. This will likely take several years.

Current New Zealand Coins

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

As of 2018, there are five types of coins used every day: 10c, 20c, 50c, $1, and $2. All New Zealand coins are round. They also use "medallic orientation," which means if you flip the coin over from top to bottom, the design on the other side will be right-side up.

You can also buy special commemorative and collectable coins from New Zealand Post. These are made for collectors.

There are two special 50c coins that are also used as regular money:

• The first one came out on March 23, 2015. It celebrates 100 years since the Battle of Gallipoli in 1915. It shows two soldiers, one from New Zealand and one from Australia. It's the first New Zealand coin to have colour on it, with a black background around the soldiers. Only 1 million of these were made.
• The second one came out on October 1, 2018. It marks 100 years since Armistice Day. It has a red poppy in the middle, surrounded by a wreath. This is the second coin to feature colour. Only 2 million of these were made.

Past New Zealand Coins

Over time, some New Zealand coins have been "demonetised," meaning they are no longer official money. This happened for different reasons.

Here are some coins that are no longer used:

Other Special Coins

Mule Coins

Sometimes, mistakes happen when coins are made. A "mule coin" is a coin that has two sides that don't belong together. It's like a mix-up of coin parts! A few of these have accidentally ended up in circulation in New Zealand.

For example, in 1967, some 2c coins were made with the front side of a Bahamian 5c coin. Another time, a 1975 NZ 20c coin was accidentally made on a blank coin shape meant for a Hong Kong $2 coin. These are very rare and special to collectors.

Commemorative Coins

New Zealand has also made many special coins to celebrate important events or things. These are called commemorative coins. They are usually made for collectors, but some can be used as money.

Here are some examples:

• Silver dollars: Many silver dollar coins have been made since 1967. They celebrate things like:

* The change to decimal currency (1967). * Captain Cook landing in New Zealand (1969). * New Zealand animals like the Fantail (1980), Takahē (1982), Chatham Island black robin (1984), Black stilt (1985), Kakapo (1986), and Yellow-eyed penguin (1988). * Royal visits by the Queen or other royals. * Important anniversaries like the Treaty of Waitangi (1990).

• Two-dollar coins: In 1993, some $2 coins showing a kingfisher bird were made.
• Five-dollar coins: These have been made since 1990. They are only for collecting, not for everyday use, but they are still legal tender.
• Ten-dollar coins: These have been made since 1995, also only for collecting.
• Twenty-dollar and One Hundred and Fifty-dollar coins: Very few of these high-value collector coins have been made.
• As mentioned earlier, special 50-cent coins were made in 2015 for the Gallipoli landings and in 2018 for Armistice Day. These were special because they were also put into general circulation for everyone to use.

Limits on Using Coins as Money

There are rules about how many coins you can use to pay for something. This is called "legal tender."

• For coins worth $10 or more (like some collector coins), there's no limit.
• For coins worth $1 or more but less than $10, you can only use up to $100 worth of them in one payment.
• For coins worth 5 cents or more but less than $1, you can only use up to $5 worth of them in one payment.

Other Countries' Coins in New Zealand

In the past, it was common to see coins from other countries in New Zealand. This happened because many former British colonies had coins that were similar in size and weight. For example, Australian 5c, 10c, and 20c coins were often mixed up with New Zealand ones. They were so similar that people sometimes used them in vending machines or parking meters without realizing!

However, after New Zealand changed to smaller coins in 2006, this became much less common. The new coins are different enough that they are not easily confused with foreign coins anymore.

|

See also

• New Zealand dollar
• Coins of the Australian dollar
• Coins of the Canadian dollar