Pre-dollar Prior to 10 July 1967, the New Zealand pound, using the
£sd (pounds, shillings and pence) system, was the currency of New Zealand. Coins of the pound tended to follow the size, weight, and composition of their British counterparts. The main coins in usage were the
halfpenny (d),
penny (1d),
threepence (3d),
sixpence (6d),
shilling (1s),
florin (2s), and
halfcrown (2s 6d).
First coins Decimalisation of the New Zealand currency occurred on 10 July 1967, when the New Zealand pound was replaced by the New Zealand dollar at a rate of one pound to two dollars (10 shillings to a dollar). On the same day, new decimal coins were introduced to replace the existing pound coins. The first coins of the New Zealand dollar were 1c, 2c, 5c, 10c, 20c, and 50c. The 1c, 2c, and 50c coins were new sizes, with the 1c and 2c minted in bronze, and 50c in cupronickel. The new 5c, 10c, and 20c were the same size, weight, and value as the former sixpence, shilling, and florin coins. Indeed, until 1970, the 10 cents coin bore the additional legend "One Shilling". The obverse designs of all the coins featured
Arnold Machin's portrait of
Elizabeth II, with the legend ELIZABETH II NEW ZEALAND [date]. The initial designs for the reverse sides of the coins introduced in 1967 were rejected by the Royal Mint. Several more designs were produced, followed by a vigorous public debate.
James Berry's designs were eventually accepted for most of the coins, although he was asked to rework his design for the 5c coin and Francis Shurrock's design for the 10c coin. In 1986, the portrait of Elizabeth II on New Zealand coins was changed to
Raphael Maklouf's new portrait of the Queen.
Removal of 1 and 2 cent coins Towards the end of the 1980s, the 1c and 2c were becoming of little value, and it was decided to withdraw these coins from circulation. The last coins of these denominations were minted for circulation in 1987, with collector coins being made for 1988. The coins were slowly withdrawn from circulation, before finally being demonetised (no longer legal tender) on 1 May 1990. After the withdrawal of these coins, cash transactions were normally rounded to the nearest 5 cents, a process known as
Swedish rounding. Some larger retailers, in the interests of public relations, elected to round the total price down (so that became instead of ). Alternatively, many retailers rounded all their prices to the nearest 5 cents to avoid the issue entirely—so a New Zealand shopper often encountered products for sale at prices like .
Introduction of 1 and 2 dollar coins On 11 February 1991, $1 and $2 coins were introduced to replace the $1 and $2 notes in circulation. These coins were minted in aluminium bronze, and were the first New Zealand coins to be minted to metric specifications. At the same time, because the new $1 coin depicted a kiwi, the 20c coin reverse design was changed. The new 20c coins depicted a Māori carving of Pukaki, a chief of the
Ngati Whakaue iwi. Coins with kiwi design, however, outnumbered coins with the new design until they were replaced with the new 20c coins, all depicting the later design, in 2006. In 1999,
Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of the Queen was introduced and the legend rearranged to read NEW ZEALAND ELIZABETH II [date].
Change to smaller coins On 11 November 2004, the Reserve Bank announced that it proposed to take the 5c coin out of circulation, and to make the existing 50, 20 and 10c coins smaller and use plated steel to make them lighter. The reasons given were: • The 5c coin was worth a third of what a cent was worth back in 1967, when New Zealand
decimalised its currency. • Surveys had found that 50, 20 and 10c coins were too large and could not be easily carried in large quantities. The original 50c coin, with a diameter of 3.2 centimetres, was one of the largest coins in circulation worldwide, and the original 20c coin, New Zealand's second biggest coin at the time at 2.8 cm, is bigger than any current circulating coin (the biggest coin in circulation is the $2 coin at 2.6 cm). • The size of the 10c piece was too close to that of the dollar - in fact, it was so close that it was possible to put two 10c pieces in a parking meter together and receive $1 worth of parking time, or jam the meter and make parking free anyway. The advent of pay & display metering in larger cities, whereby one is required to use another meter if the first one is jammed, has largely stopped this practice. • The prices of copper and nickel used to mint the old coins were high and rising steeply, and the metal content of some coins exceeded their face value. After a three-month public submission period that ended on 4 February 2005, the Reserve Bank announced on 31 March that it would go ahead with the proposed changes. The changeover period started on 31 July 2006, with the old coins usable up until 31 October 2006. The older 50, 20, 10 and 5c pieces are no longer legal tender, but are still able to be handed in at the Reserve Bank in Wellington, either in person or by post, in exchange for their face value. Any old currency surrendered in this way for its face value must be paid directly into a bank account. This can be either a New Zealand account in New Zealand Dollars, or a Foreign bank account in any of the following five currencies: USD, CAD, GBP, AUD, or EUR. In August 2005, the
Royal Canadian Mint, which has minted Canadian coins in plated steel in the past, was selected by the Reserve Bank to make the new coins. The new coins have a unique electromagnetic signature which enables modern vending machines to determine coin counterfeiting and foreign coins, and it was estimated the changeover would remove nearly $5 million of foreign coinage from circulation. The change to smaller coins is also advantageous to Australia, as the outgoing 5, 10, and 20c coins were of the same size and weight as Australian coins of these denominations, and were easily confused by shopkeepers and retailers, as well as being usable in Australian vending machines, parking meters, and coin deposit machines at banks.
Future After the
death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, the Reserve Bank said it would exhaust its existing coin stocks before introducing new coins featuring
King Charles III. Based on current stock levels, this would likely be several years away. The effigy of King Charles III has appeared on New Zealand's
proof coins since 2024. In May 2025, the Reserve Bank confirmed 10 cent coins with the effigy of King Charles III will enter circulation around 2027. ==Current coinage==