The New Zealand one-dollar coin ($1) is a

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 t ...

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 current circulating coin was introduced on 11 February 1991 to replace the existing $1 note. There had previously been occasional issues of commemorative "silver dollars", but they are rarely seen in circulation. The depiction of a

kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also ref ...

on the reverse helps give the New Zealand dollar the colloquial name "Kiwi (dollar)", although the term was in use before the $1 coin was introduced. Both the $1 and $2 coins are gold-coloured, and requests for a Koha, donation or entry fee sometimes say ''gold coin please.''

Current circulating coin (1991–present)

The current coin replaced the New Zealand one dollar note in use since New Zealand's currency was decimalised on 10 July 1967. The reason for replacing the note was due to

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reduct ...

making the note more expensive to produce, and notes had to be replaced regularly due to wear and tear. The $1 coins, and $2 coins, were first minted in 1990 but circulated in 1991. The $1 notes were withdrawn later that year. The new $1 coin was made of

aluminium bronze Aluminium bronze is a type of bronze in which aluminium is the main alloying metal added to copper, in contrast to standard bronze (copper and tin) or brass (copper and zinc). A variety of aluminium bronzes of differing compositions have found in ...

, and was 23.0 mm in diameter, 2.74 mm thick, and 8.0 g in weight. The edge of the coin consisted of eight sections, alternating between milling and plain sections. The reverse of the coin was designed by Robert Maurice Conly, and depicted two symbols of New Zealand: a kiwi facing left in the centre, surrounded by four fronds of the

silver fern ''Alsophila dealbata'', synonym ''Cyathea dealbata'', commonly known as the silver fern or silver tree-fern, or as ponga or punga (from Māori or ),The Māori word , pronounced , has been borrowed into New Zealand English as a generic term fo ...

''(Cyathea dealbata)''. Both the kiwi and the silver ferns sat above the legend reading the denomination "ONE DOLLAR". The obverse consisted of

Raphael Maklouf Raphael David Maklouf (born 10 December 1937) is a British sculptor, best known for designing an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II used on the coins of many Commonwealth nations. Maklouf was born in Jerusalem, to a Jewish family; his father was S ...

's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, the

Queen of New Zealand The monarchy of New Zealand is the constitutional system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of New Zealand. The current monarch, King Charles III, ascended the throne following the death of his mot ...

, with the legend reading "ELIZABETH II NEW ZEALAND ear of minting. In 1999, the obverse of all new $1 coins was changed with the addition of

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 ...

's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, and the legend was rearranged to read "NEW ZEALAND ELIZABETH II ear of minting. In 2006 the

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 N ...

replaced the 10c, 20c and 50c coins in circulation with smaller, lighter ones, and removed the 5c coin from circulation. The $1 remained the same as it was relatively new (the oldest $1 coins were only 14 years old), they circulated well, and the extra expense of adapting machines that only took $1 coins. Another reason for the change in size was that the 10c and $1 coin were very similar in size, being only 0.62 mm different in diameter. Due to a similar design, it was sometimes possible to pass the $1 coin as a £1 coin in the United Kingdom, in shops and vending machines. However, since the new 2017 £1 coin release this is no longer possible.

Mintages

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.

References

External links

Coins from New Zealand / Coin Type: One Dollar – Online Coin Club
{{Economy of New Zealand Currencies introduced in 1991 D1 One-base-unit coins

Current circulating coin (1991–present)

Mintages

Future

See also

References

External links