The New Zealand twenty-cent coin is the second-lowest-denomination

coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order ...

of the

New Zealand dollar The New Zealand dollar ( mi, tāra o Aotearoa; sign: $, NZ$; code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within Ne ...

. The 20-cent coin was introduced when the New Zealand dollar was introduced on 10 July 1967, replacing the New Zealand florin coin. Its original reverse of a kiwi was changed in 1990 when the image was moved onto the one-dollar coin. In 2006 its size was reduced and its edge altered to a

Spanish flower The Spanish flower (, or ''canto liso estriado'', " fluted smooth edge") is a type of coin A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal ten ...

as part of a revision of New Zealand's coins, which also saw its alloy become nickel-plated steel instead of cupro-nickel.

Design

1967 to 1990

On 10 July 1967, New Zealand decimalised its currency, replacing the pound with the dollar at a rate of one pound to two dollars and one shilling to ten cents. The 20-cent coin directly replaced the one-florin coin, which had been worth two shillings. Like the florin, the new 20-cent coin was made of

cupronickel Cupronickel or copper-nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese. The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent. ( Monel is a nickel-copper alloy that contains a mi ...

, 28.58 mm in diameter, 11.31 grams in weight, and had 100% edge milling. The 20-cent coin retained the presence of a kiwi on the reverse of the florin, albeit in a different design. The original obverses of 20-cent coins depicted

Arnold Machin Arnold Machin OBE, R.A., FRSS (; 30 September 1911 – 9 March 1999) was a British artist, sculptor, and coin and postage stamp designer. Life Machin was born Stoke-on-Trent in 1911. He started work at the age of 14 as an apprentice china pai ...

's portrait of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. In 1986 the portrait was changed to the one by Raphael Maklouf, which had been introduced to the

coins of the pound sterling The standard circulating coinage of the United Kingdom, British Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories is denominated in pennies and pounds sterling ( symbol "£", commercial GBP), and ranges in value from one penny sterling t ...

in the previous year. Mintings of this coin from 1990 are rare.

1990 to 2006

In 1990, the new $1 and $2 coins were released to replace the $1 and $2 notes. As the $1 depicted a kiwi also, the 20-cent's reverse had to be redesigned. The new reverse side featured the well-known

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

carving depicting Pukaki, a chief of the Ngāti Whakaue iwi (tribe) of

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori iwi and hapu (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the Arawa migration canoe (''waka'').Ian Rank-Broadley Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS (born 1952) is a British sculptor who has produced many acclaimed works, among which are several designs for British coinage and the memorial statue of Princess Diana at Kensington Palace in London unveiled on her 60th ...

which had been introduced to the coins of the pound sterling in the previous year. No 20-cent coins were minted between 1991 and 2001. The existing 20-cent coins remained in circulation and greatly outnumbered the new design until 2006. A total of 169,202,000 pre-2006 20 cent coins were issued, with a total value of $33,840,400.00

2006 onwards

On 31 July 2006, the new 20-cent coin was released alongside the new 10-cent and 50-cent coins as part of the Reserve Bank's "Change for the better" silver coin replacement. The new 20-cent coin had the same reverse as the 1990 to 2006 minted coins and the same obverse as the 1999-onward coins, but the coins were reduced in size. The new 20-cent coins are made of steel, covered in a layer of nickel, copper, then nickel again. The new coins are 21.75 mm in diameter and 4 grams in weight. They have

milling around the edge, splitting it into seven sections. For their introduction in 2006, 116 million were minted, with a total value of NZ$23.2 million. The only other year of issue was 2008, where 80 million coins and a total value of NZ$16 million were issued. The old 20-cent coins were demonetised on 1 November 2006. Coin collectors recognise two distinct varieties of the 2014 20-cent coin. These vary in terms of the detail on both the Maori design and Queen's portrait, but are most easily differentiated in terms of the date shown, with Die I having a standard (wide) date setting and Die II a much narrower setting. Both varieties are common in circulation.

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 Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

. Based on current stock levels, this would likely be several years away.

Minting figures

According to

Reserve Bank of New Zealand The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ, mi, Te Pūtea Matua) is the central bank of New Zealand. It was established in 1934 and is constituted under the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989. The governor of the Reserve Bank is responsible for ...

. Values are in New Zealand dollars. No large 20-cent coins were minted in 1968, 1970, 1991–2001, 2003. Due to the large amount made for the introduction of the small 20-cent, none were minted in 2007 or from 2009 onwards. *1967: $2,600,000 *1969: $500,000 *1971: $320,000 *1972: $303,000 *1973: $610,000 *1974: $907,000 *1975: $1,000,000 *1976: $1,500,000 *1977: $1,500,000 *1978: $500,000 *1979: $1,600,000 *1980: $1,800,000 *1981: $1,500,000 *1982: $3,500,000 *1983: $500,000 *1984: $300,000 *1985: $1,200,000 *1986: $2,500,000 *1987: $2,800,000 *1988: $2,500,000 *1989: $1,000,000 *1990: $1,000,000 *2002: $1,400,000 *2004: $1,700,000 *2005: $800,000 *2006: $23,320,000 *2008: $16,000,000

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:New Zealand 20 Cent Coin 20 Twenty-cent coins 1967 establishments in New Zealand