A New Zealand trip

[Alan71]

I've been in New Zealand for over two weeks now (back home later this week) and been travelling round both islands in car and then campavan.

Naturally, I've become more interested in NZ coins now I've actually used them.  I already had 1965, 1967, 1970, 1990 and 1994 sets and during this trip I got 1988 and have ordered 1989 (last kiwi 20c and commemorative $1) and 2006 (last 5c and last large-size 10c, 20c and 50c) off eBay.

From what I can gather from Wikipedia and other sources:

Last circulation 1c and 2c coins struck for circulation were dated 1987.  They appeared in 1988 sets (hence me getting a 1988 set here) but were finally withdrawn from circulation at midnight on 30 April 1990.

First $1 and $2 coins were dated 1990 and appeared in sets for that year (hence this being one of the dates I already had a set for) but were not issued for circulation until 11 February 1991.  As the kiwi was being moved to the new $1 coin, a new design for the 20c was introduced for the 1990 coins, meaning the last kiwi 20c was dated 1989 (hence my interest in that year's set, which was also transitional as it only contained four circulation coins, 5c to 50c, plus the last old-style commemorative $1).

Smaller size 10c, 20c and 50c coins first issued 31 July 2006, with the old-size coins (three of which still corresponded to sixpence, shilling and florin specifications) withdrawn 31 October 2006.  The 5c coin was not replaced.

As a consequence of the 2006 changes, the Arnold Machin portrait of the Queen disappeared entirely from circulation coinage, with the Raphael Maklouf portrait only appearing on $1 and $2 coins dated 1990 to 1998 (the Ian Rank-Broadley portrait was not introduced to NZ coinage until 1999. Similarly the Maklouf portrait was only used from 1986, not 1985 as in the UK).

Last Brilliant Uncirculated Mint sets issued dated 2013.  Since then only proof sets, and apparently not issued until later in the year.

1.  I'm wondering why the $1 and $2 were first struck, and in sets, dated 1990 and yet not issued until February 1991.  Was this date always intended or was their issue delayed from 1990?  If so, for what reason?

2.  If 1c and 2c coins were still in circulation throughout 1989, why aren't they in sets for that year?  Was it intended that they would be withdrawn sooner?

3.  Does the withdrawal of NZ's sixpence, shilling and florin-sized coins leave Australia as the only country in the world still using them (the UK itself having abandoned them all by mid-1993)?

Not expecting anyone to know the answers to the above, but thought I'd ask in case.

[<k>]

Here are some answers from Martin Purdy in New Zealand.

1. Not sure of the exact reason but it's likely they were stockpiling for mass release to replace the large numbers of banknotes in circulation. Sets were often released late in the year and sometimes even early the next, so it may not have been far off the actual release date for circulation that the sets came out.  I really can't remember now, but bear in mind we had the 'large' dollar and special designs for the Sesquicentennial earlier in 1990 (those were available for a big fair in Wellington in May that year) so there would have been a reasonable gap between the two. Your newly released pound coin also includes early strikes dated 2016, so probably a similar situation obtains there. I also can't remember if we got the 1990 and 1991 coins together (again like yours now). It's possible.

2. They were last made dated 1988 so there would have been no point including old coins in the next year's sets :-)  The 1988 ones were 'medallic' anyway, as none were struck for circulation that year. Perhaps the sets were arranged before the decision was made to pull them from circulation?

3. I thought that might be the case, but PNG still has 5, 10 and 20 toea to 6d, shilling and florin standard as far as I know. They're still descendants of Britain's 1816 standard too.

Slightly separate issue, but the 10 and 20-franc coins in New Caledonia and Tahiti are also still the same size as our old 10/20c  - never quite sure why that was, but they would occasionally turn up in change here prior to 2006.

[Alan71]

Many thanks, <k> for getting that info, and thank Martin for me.  Guessing he isn't on the forum himself anymore.  I did go through old NZ topics and noticed there was an expert on there at one point.

[<k>]

Many thanks, <k> for getting that info, and thank Martin for me.

Will do.