New Zealand coin

[ghipszky]

I found this coin the other day and wondered what the reptile is and what is the 5(pounds, pence?). The coin is 20mm.
Ginger

[translateltd]

I found this coin the other day and wondered what the reptile is and what is the 5(pounds, pence?). The coin is 20mm.
Ginger

Hi Ginger,

It's a 5-cent coin, last issued for circulation in 2004 and demonetised at the end of 2006 - our smallest circulating coin is 10c now (about 5.5 cents in US money these days).  The reptile is a tuatara, known as a "living fossil" - they've been around since dinosaur days but are still found in New Zealand, though the only live ones I've seen have been in zoos and the like.

Martin
NZ

[ghipszky]

Thank you Martin. I think there was a news story the other day, or something on the Discovery Channel newsletter about the Tuatara. Really interesting creature.
I will put this on the coins card.
Ginger

[BC Numismatics]

Martin,
  The 2004 5c. is a bit of an oddball,as it was almost never seen in circulation.

As for the last date,I think that 2005 was the last date as a currency coin,but 2006 5c. coins were struck only for sets.

Ginger,
  Here's an article about the Tuatara; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuatara .

Aidan.

[translateltd]

Martin,
  The 2004 5c. is a bit of an oddball,as it was almost never seen in circulation.

As for the last date,I think that 2005 was the last date as a currency coin,but 2006 5c. coins were struck only for sets.

Ginger,
  Here's an article about the Tuatara; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuatara .

Aidan.

2005s were not struck for circulation, just "sets only", same as the 2006 issues.  The 2004 was still struck in circulation quantities and the odd few did make it into change, even though most were withdrawn and melted (or left in bags for wholesalers to acquire, as we've since discovered!)  The last 5c to circulate in big numbers was 2003.

[BC Numismatics]

Martin,
  Thanks for clarifying the status of the 2005 5c. coin.

I wonder how a big quantity of the 2004 5c. coins turned up.Let's hope that the lot that the Royal couldn't offload didn't get turned in for melting down.It would be a real shame if they did.

I have heard that a lot of 2004 5c. coins turned up in Germany.

Aidan.

[ghipszky]

Thanks for the wikipedia link to the Tuatara, very unique and interesting creature to be sure.
Why do they melt the coins down? Mine is a proof issue, although it is hard to tell how shiny and mirror like it is in the photo.
Ginger

[translateltd]

Martin,
  Thanks for clarifying the status of the 2005 5c. coin.

I wonder how a big quantity of the 2004 5c. coins turned up.Let's hope that the lot that the Royal couldn't offload didn't get turned in for melting down.It would be a real shame if they did.

I have heard that a lot of 2004 5c. coins turned up in Germany.

Aidan.

Most of the estimated 48,000 survivors of the 2004 circulation strikes would appear to have been sold to wholesalers in Germany long before the decision was taken to withdraw them from circulation, and it would also appear that at least one seller in NZ (perhaps two or three) has been reimporting them from Germany by the $100 bagful (i.e. 2000 coins per bag).  The 650 or so coins that the RNSNZ distributed a year or so ago pale into insignificance by comparison to the thousands that have been sold since - at least the first of the "wholesale sellers" had the decency to wait until our giveaway programme had finished before starting to break into his massive holdings!

We had a contract with NZ Post and the Reserve Bank to return any examples that were not distributed from the 1000 that we were given, and have kept to our side of the bargain. 

The real "sleeper" in the NZ series that collectors have not taken much notice of (perhaps because there really *are* not many of them lying around loose) is the 2005 10c - of an estimated 16,000 survivors, we really only know where about 5,650 of them are: 5,000 in the "Small Change, Smaller Change" sets issued by NZ Post in 2006 and the 650 or so that we distributed with the 2004 5c.  Maybe the other 10,000 of these went to Germany, too, but there hasn't been a lot of interest in them, for some strange reason - perhaps because they never featured on television!

[ghipszky]

I am going to search my other world coins to see if I might have other NZ coins. I like the one I posted here and don't understand why circulation or making of the coins was stopped. And someone in another country and continent is selling them back to you guys.
Ginger

[BC Numismatics]

Ginger,
  It is very good that the prices have come down for the 2004 5c. coin,then it is more coins for collectors becoming available.

I'm keeping my pair of 2004 5c. & 2005 10c. coins.

I picked up a 2004 10c. coin around 3 months ago.That is another coin that never circulated,whereas,the 2004 20c. coin did.

The 2005 50c. coin was a circulating coin,but not many of them were issued.

Aidan.

[translateltd]

I am going to search my other world coins to see if I might have other NZ coins. I like the one I posted here and don't understand why circulation or making of the coins was stopped. And someone in another country and continent is selling them back to you guys.
Ginger

Hi Ginger

What happened was a twofold process:

1. The Reserve Bank (our issuing authority) decided that our coins were too big and needed to be replaced, so they set a deadline by which all "old" coins had to be returned, and issued new, small coins to replace them.  Before the decision was made, however, they had ordered large numbers of new 5c coins from the Mint, most of which were stockpiled and never released for circulation.  This included most of the 2004-dated coins.  As a result, when the old coins were sent off to be destroyed, many unissued ones were sent straight from the bank vaults off to the melters along with "returns" from circulation.

2. There is a big wholesaler in Germany that has regular contact with central banks around the world to buy uncirculated small coins in bulk to make up sets for collectors - they regularly buy in lots of 1000, 5000 or more of each denomination.  They appear to have put in an order with our Reserve Bank when the coins were first made, and therefore received several bags of 2004-dated coins, among other dates, from the stockpile.  When 2004-dated 5c coins started turning up in German-assembled sets, it would appear that someone (a private individual or dealer) tracked down the wholesaler and re-imported big numbers back into NZ, presumably at an extra cost, and has since been selling them here.  This last part is only an assumption, but it appears to be backed up by what has been happening on the local market.  The very first 2004 5c that was found and put up for auction a couple of years ago sold for NZ$360 (about USD 200 these days); market value is down to about $2 now.  A bulk lot of 50 that was offered for NZ$95 recently didn't find a buyer at all.

Martin
NZ

[translateltd]

 
I picked up a 2004 10c. coin around 3 months ago.That is another coin that never circulated,whereas,the 2004 20c. coin did.

The 2004 10c did indeed circulate - I got quite a few when I was sorting my "large" coins out prior to the changeover, and may even have sent some back to the bank if there were more than ten or so in my pile.  Some dealers claimed there weren't too many about, but that may have been a regional question.  They weren't in short supply in my town at the time.  There are some interesting minor varieties to watch out for, though - double rims in particular.

[BC Numismatics]

Martin,
  I never got any 2004 10c. coin in change at all here in Wellington.Neither John Eccles nor I know of anyone in Wellington who did get 2004 10c. coins in change.

By the way,my one is a Double Rim type.

I've never heard of the term 'sleeper' as applied to coins.Does it mean 'a scarce or rare coin that commands a low price'? To me,a sleeper is what is found under the lines of railway tracks.

Aidan.

[africancoins]

The 20 Cent coin is the only New Zealand denomination I have for 2004....  I won't mind too much if it is the only one I get for this New Zealand date.

So - could anyone summarise the current New Zealand market values for the 2004 New Zealand coins (in unc grade) ?

Thanks Mr Paul Baker

[translateltd]

I've never heard of the term 'sleeper' as applied to coins.Does it mean 'a scarce or rare coin that commands a low price'? To me,a sleeper is what is found under the lines of railway tracks.

Sleeper: a good or promising item that the market hasn't become fully aware of yet.