Centennial half-crown

Last updated

Half-crown
New Zealand
Value2+12s (£NZ)
Mass14.14 g
Diameter32 mm
EdgeMilled
Composition50% silver, 50% quaternary alloy
Years of minting1940
Obverse
1940 New Zealand Half Crown, Obverse, Proof.png
DesignBust of George VI
Designer Humphrey Paget
Reverse
1940 New Zealand Half Crown, Reverse, Proof.png
DesignA Māori woman standing with her arms outstretched, surrounded by traditional Māori architecture on one side and tall modern buildings behind.
Designer Leonard Cornwall Mitchell

The Centennial half-crown is a commemorative coin of the New Zealand half-crown released in 1940 to coincide with the hundredth anniversary of the Treaty of Waitangi. A 1938 government-sponsored design competition for the commemorative half-crown, alongside the concurrently released penny and halfpenny, was won by New Zealand artist Leonard Cornwall Mitchell. The coin features a Māori woman surrounded by traditional Māori architecture on her right, a modern cityscape on her left, and a rising sun behind her head. The coin, like other contemporary New Zealand half-crowns, had a diameter of 32 mm and a weight of 14.14 grams, and was struck by the Royal Mint in .500 fineness silver. Unlike the Waitangi crown, the first New Zealand commemorative issue, a large mintage of 100,800 coins was produced and released directly into circulation at face value. However, the popularity of the coin led to it rapidly exiting circulation into private collections.

Contents

Background

New Zealand adopted domestic coinage in 1933, including the half-crown as its largest circulating denomination. All coinage featured the reigning monarch on the obverse and a unique design incorporating local iconography on the reverse; the standard half-crown's reverse features the coat of arms of New Zealand surrounded by Māori carvings. [1] [2] [3]

The nation's first commemorative coin, the Waitangi crown, was originally intended to be dated 1933, released alongside the initial set of denominations. [2] Delays and revisions in design pushed this to a 1935 release in extremely limited numbers, with only 1,128 coins produced. Sold at significantly higher than face value during the waning years of the Great Depression, it was ultimately unpopular with collectors. [4]

It was unclear whether the Waitangi crown was primarily meant to commemorate the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, or simply intended to cap-off a corresponding set of proof coins released. [4] The treaty, signed in 1840 between various Māori chiefs and British representative William Hobson, asserted the sovereignty of the Crown over New Zealand, which had previously held unclear political control over the islands following the earlier Declaration of Independence. [5] The treaty would become a constitutional document for New Zealand and the relationship between Māori and Pākehā, although mired in controversy due to a lack of enforceability and differences between English and Māori copies of the document. [6] Commemoration of the treaty increased following the first Waitangi Day in 1934, marked by the donation and dedication of the Treaty House by Lord Bledisloe. [7]

History

The Waitangi Crown's delays and difficulties encouraged the longer-term planning of future commemorative coins. [8] By August 1936, the New Zealand Numismatic Society began pursuing the creation of commemorative coinage to be issued for the centenary of the Treaty of Waitangi, which had increasingly been seen as a centennial for the country itself. Allan Sutherland proposed the creation of a commemorative half-crown to be released into circulation at face value. [9] The government-appointed National Historical Committee was receptive to the Society's proposal, and cooperated with it to design the commemorative issue. Commemorative issues for other denominations such as the florin were rejected in favor of the larger half-crown, while another crown issue was deemed inadvisable in the aftermath of the unsuccessful Waitangi commemorative. [10]

Design competition

Poster for the New Zealand Centennial Exhibition New Zealand Centennial Exhibition 1939 - 1940 (10599009786).jpg
Poster for the New Zealand Centennial Exhibition

Beginning in late August 1938, a competition was held for the design of the commemorative half-crown's reverse, alongside the proposed penny and halfpenny denominations. A nominal prize of £30 was to be granted for the winning half-crown design, with the only design stipulations in the form of a general centennial theming and the text "New Zealand Centennial: 1840–1940 Half-Crown". [11] Like contemporary New Zealand coinage, it would feature an obverse bearing a bust of George VI designed by Humphrey Paget. [12] Prospective artists had until the end of September to submit designs via to-scale sketches. Minister of Finance Walter Nash appointed a selection committee to review submissions, composed of various financial ministers and members of the Numismatic Society. About twenty New Zealand artists were invited to participate (with at least five of them known to have submitted designs), alongside British Royal Mint designers Percy Metcalfe and George Kruger Gray, who were both granted permission to participate due to their work on the prior New Zealand coinage. [11]

Art instructor and stamp designer Harry Linley Richardson submitted a design featuring a "virile youth" facing up, climbing a hill beneath a shining sun, while carrying a banner emblazoned with "New Zealand Centennial". [13] Sculptor Francis Shurrock's submission shows an early 19th century colonist, wearing a top hat, shaking hands with a contemporary aviator. James Berry's combined the Treaty House with the Cook Landing Site obelisk. [14] Metcalfe and Kruger Gray both submitted full suites of coinage designs to the competition. While greatly differing in the other denominations, their half-crown proposals were very similar; both featured a map of New Zealand, although Metcalfe additionally incorporated the stars of the Southern Cross. [15]

Mitchell's half-crown

The New Zealander Leonard Cornwall Mitchell's designs were selected for all three denominations. [16] His half-crown design featured a Māori woman in piupiu standing with her arms outstretched, flanked by traditional Māori architecture on her right, including a wharepuni (meeting house) and puhara (lookout post), alongside a cabbage tree. A modern cityscape is on her left, with a rising sun behind her head. The Royal Mint's task of transferring Mitchell's sketch to coinage proved troublesome. Minor changes to the design to accommodate transfer were approved by the High Commissioner in August 1939, and the coin entered production. [17] The coin was relatively popular with the public, and had almost entirely disappeared from circulation by 1941. [18]

Mintage and production

The Centennial commemorative had the same dimensions as other New Zealand half-crowns, at 32 mm (1.3 in) in diameter and with a weight of 14.14 g (0.5 oz). It was struck in .500 fineness silver, with a milled edge. [1] [19] 100,800 were minted, including an unclear number of proof pieces. [20] Three prototype examples are known of a proposed box set of the 1940 coinage, featuring the half-crown. The government declined a production order of the boxed coin set. [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coins of the pound sterling</span> British current and historic coinage

The standard circulating coinage of the United Kingdom, British Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories is denominated in pennies and pounds sterling, and ranges in value from one penny sterling to two pounds. Since decimalisation, on 15 February 1971, the pound has been divided into 100 (new) pence. Before decimalisation, twelve pence made a shilling, and twenty shillings made a pound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Double florin</span> British coin, struck 1887–1890

The double florin, or four-shilling piece, was a British coin produced by the Royal Mint between 1887 and 1890. One of the shortest-lived of all British coin denominations, it was struck in only four years. Its obverse, designed by Joseph Boehm and engraved by Leonard Charles Wyon, depicts Queen Victoria, whilst the reverse, featuring national symbols of the United Kingdom, was designed by Wyon based on the coinage of Charles II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Bicentennial coinage</span> Three US coins minted in 1975–1976

The United States Bicentennial coinage is a set of circulating commemorative coins, consisting of a quarter, half dollar and dollar struck by the United States Mint in 1975 and 1976. Regardless of when struck, each coin bears the double date 1776–1976 on the normal obverses for the Washington quarter, Kennedy half dollar and Eisenhower dollar. No coins dated 1975 of any of the three denominations were minted.

There have been three sets of coins in Ireland since independence. In all three, the coin showed a Celtic harp on the obverse. The pre-decimal coins of the Irish punt had realistic animals on the reverse; the decimal coins retained some of these but featured ornamental birds on the lower denominations; and the euro coins used the common design of the euro currencies. The pre-decimal and original decimal coins were of the same dimensions as the same-denomination British coins, as the Irish punt was in currency union with the British pound sterling. British coins were widely accepted in Ireland, and conversely to a lesser extent. In 1979 Ireland joined the Exchange Rate Mechanism and the Irish punt left parity with sterling; coin designs introduced after this differed between the two countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florin (New Zealand coin)</span> Coin of the New Zealand pound from 1933 to 1965

The florin is a coin issued for the New Zealand pound from 1933 to 1965, equal to two shillings or twenty-four pence. The coin features a kiwi on the reverse and the reigning monarch on the obverse. It was introduced in 1933 as part of the first issue of New Zealand pound coinage, due to shortages of British silver coins resulting from the devaluation of local currency relative to the pound sterling. A lengthy design process was further protracted due to differing proposed design motifs between the Royal Mint, supporting a reverse design featuring heraldic ships, and the Gordon Coates–appointed Coinage Committee's proposed kiwi design. This disagreement led to almost a dozen proposed designs and revisions before the finalised issue entered circulation in February 1934. Initially struck in silver by the Royal Mint to replace the previous imperial florin, it was struck in cupronickel from 1947 due to rising precious metal prices. While proposed as the base of a decimalised New Zealand coinage since the 1930s, the florin was ultimately replaced in 1967 by the coinage of the New Zealand dollar. Florins remained legal tender with a value of 20 cents until 31 October 2006.

The coins of the New Zealand dollar are used for the smallest physical currency available in New Zealand. The current denominations are ten cents, twenty cents, fifty cents, one dollar and two dollars. The $1 and $2 coins are minted in a gold colour, the 20c and 50c coins are silver colour and the 10c coin is plated in copper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas Centennial half dollar</span>

The Texas Centennial half dollar was a commemorative fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint for collectors from 1934 to 1938. It features an eagle and the Lone Star of Texas on the obverse, while the reverse is a complex scene incorporating the winged goddess Victory, the Alamo Mission, portraits of Texan founding fathers Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin, alongside the six flags over Texas. Proposed by the American Legion's Texas Centennial Committee as a fundraising measure for the Texas Centennial Exposition and a celebration of the hundredth anniversary of the Texas Revolution, the coin's issue was approved by Congress in 1933, ending a multi-year pause on new commemorative issues under the Hoover administration. It was designed by sculptor Pompeo Coppini, previously the designer of several Texan public monuments. Rough models of the coin were approved by the committee in May 1934, but rejected by the United States Commission of Fine Arts, who viewed the design as crowded and overly-complicated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wisconsin Territorial Centennial half dollar</span> 1936 United States commemorative coin

The Wisconsin Territorial Centennial half dollar is a commemorative half dollar designed by David Parsons and Benjamin Hawkins and minted by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1936. The obverse depicts a pick axe and lead ore, referring to the lead mining in early Wisconsin, while the reverse depicts a badger and the territorial seal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Double sovereign</span> British gold coin

The double sovereign is a gold coin of the United Kingdom with a face value of two pounds sterling (£2). Rarely issued in the first 150 years after its debut in 1820, it never had a significant presence in circulation. It became a collector and bullion coin, and has been struck most years since 1980. It features the reigning monarch on its obverse and, most often, Benedetto Pistrucci's depiction of Saint George and the Dragon on the reverse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jubilee coinage</span> British coins depicting Queen Victoria

The Jubilee coinage or Jubilee head coinage are British coins with an obverse featuring a depiction of Queen Victoria by Joseph Edgar Boehm. The design was placed on the silver and gold circulating coinage beginning in 1887, and on the Maundy coinage beginning in 1888. The depiction of Victoria wearing a crown that was seen as too small was widely mocked, and was replaced in 1893. The series saw the entire issuance of the double florin (1887–1890) and, in 1888, the last issue for circulation of the groat, or fourpence piece, although it was intended for use in British Guiana. No bronze coins were struck with the Jubilee design.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Head coinage</span> 1893–1901 British coins

The Old Head coinage or Veiled Head coinage were British coins struck and dated between 1893 and 1901, which featured on the obverse a portrait by Thomas Brock of an aged Queen Victoria wearing a diadem partially hidden by a widow's veil. It replaced the Jubilee coinage, struck since 1887, which had been widely criticised both for the portrait of the Queen, and because the reverses of most of the coins did not state their monetary values. Some denominations continued with their old reverse designs, with Benedetto Pistrucci's design for the sovereign extended to the half sovereign. New designs for some of the silver coinage were inaugurated, created either by Brock or by Edward Poynter, and all denominations less than the crown, or five-shilling piece, stated their values.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Halfpenny (New Zealand coin)</span> Former denomination of New Zealand currency

The halfpenny was first issued in New Zealand in 1940, seven years after the first introduction of a domestic pound coinage. The coin's issuing was scheduled to align with the centennial of the Treaty of Waitangi and the New Zealand centennial, alongside the penny and centennial half-crown. The coin was designed by New Zealand artist Leonard Cornwall Mitchell after winning a government-sponsored design competition, and then modelled by Royal Mint designer Percy Metcalfe. The halfpenny features the head of the reigning monarch on the obverse, with a hei-tiki pendant ornamented and simplified kowhaiwhai woodcarvings on the reverse. The smallest of all denominations of the New Zealand pound, the copper coin was worth 1/480th of a pound, or 1/120th of a crown, the largest coinage denomination. It was discontinued alongside all other New Zealand currency following decimalisation in 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waitangi crown</span> New Zealand commemorative coin

The Waitangi crown is a commemorative crown coin struck in 1935 by the British Royal Mint for the Dominion of New Zealand to commemorate the 1840 signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, often seen as New Zealand's founding constitutional document. It was the first five-shilling piece minted of the New Zealand pound and the nation's first coin minted primarily for collectors. Following the rejection of designs by James Berry and George Kruger Gray, Royal Mint designer Percy Metcalfe was commissioned to design the reverse. Design disagreements plagued the production of the crown, and only an extremely small mintage of 1,128 was struck and distributed to collectors. Released to muted media coverage and a general lack of interest in coin collecting during the economic aftermath of the Great Depression, the coin has become heavily sought by collectors of New Zealand coinage. Regularly selling for thousands of dollars, one pattern issue of the coin auctioned at over $70,000 USD, becoming the most expensive New Zealand coin ever sold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coins of the New Zealand pound</span> Former New Zealand coinage

The first coinage of the New Zealand pound was introduced in 1933 in response to large-scale smuggling of prior British imperial coinage after devaluation of New Zealand exchange rates relative to the pound sterling and large influxes of other foreign coinage into circulation. The Coinage Act, 1933 outlined the weights and compositions of various denominations, out of which five silver issues entered circulation over the following year, after lengthy disagreement between rival coinage design committees. The copper penny and halfpenny entered circulation in 1940, corresponding to anniversary of the New Zealand centennial. An eighth denomination of coin, the five-shilling piece or crown, was produced solely through three commemorative issues. The first issue, the Waitangi crown, was produced in extremely limited quantities and sold to collectors. Later commemorative crown issues in 1949 and 1953 were produced for circulation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penny (New Zealand pre-decimal coin)</span> New Zealand coin

The New Zealand penny is a large bronze coin issued from 1939 to 1965. Introduced seven years after the larger denominations of New Zealand pound coinage, the coin's issuing was scheduled to align with the centennial of the Treaty of Waitangi and the New Zealand centennial, alongside the halfpenny and centennial half-crown. Featuring the standard portrait of the ruling monarch on the obverse, the reverse features a tūī bird perched atop a kōwhai branch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shilling (New Zealand coin)</span> Silver or cupronickel coin minted 1933–1965

The New Zealand shilling was first issued in 1933 alongside four other denominations of New Zealand pound coinage, introduced due to shortages of comparable British silver coinage following the devaluation of the New Zealand pound relative to the pound sterling. Roughly 24 mm in diameter, it is slightly larger than the British coin it replaced. Worth twelve pence, the denomination was equal to half a florin, two sixpence, or two-fifths of a half-crown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Threepence (New Zealand coin)</span> New Zealand coin

The New Zealand threepence is a coin of the New Zealand pound issued from 1933 to 1965. Equal to three pence, the coin was the smallest in size of all New Zealand pound coinage and the smallest in denomination of the initial 1933 issue of New Zealand pound coinage, produced due to shortages of British silver coins resulting from the devaluation of local currency relative to the pound sterling. British artist George Kruger Gray designed the coin's reverse design after an earlier pattern design featuring a hei-tiki was rejected by a coinage design committee organised by Gordon Coates. It features two crossed patu below the label "3d". Initially struck in silver by the Royal Mint, it was struck in cupronickel from 1947 onward due to rising precious metal prices. Following decimalisation in 1967, the threepence was replaced by the coinage of the New Zealand dollar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sixpence (New Zealand coin)</span> Former denomination of the New Zealand pound

The New Zealand sixpence is a coin of the New Zealand pound issued from 1933 to 1965. Equal to twice a threepence or half a shilling, the sixpence was one of five denominations of silver coins introduced in the initial issue of New Zealand coinage in 1933. Early designs for the coin featuring spears and silver ferns were rejected by design committees in Britain and New Zealand. The coin's final reverse, designed by George Kruger Gray, features a female huia, an extinct New Zealand bird, perched atop a branch. Issued in 50% silver until a postwar rise in silver prices triggered a shift to cupronickel in 1947, the coin was minted with relative consistency until 1965, when it was discontinued following decimalisation and the adoption of the New Zealand dollar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Half-crown (New Zealand coin)</span> Former denomination of the New Zealand pound

The half-crown is the largest of five denominations of New Zealand pound coinage first issued in 1933. Introduced due to shortages of comparable British silver coinage following the devaluation of the New Zealand pound relative to the pound sterling, the coin measures roughly 32 mm (1.3 in) in diameter. It was equal to thirty pence, two and a half shillings, or an eighth of a pound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1949 New Zealand crown</span> Commemorative coin of the New Zealand pound

A commemorative crown coin of the New Zealand pound was produced for a planned visit by King George VI in 1949. Having first visited the country in 1927 in his duties as the Duke of York, proposals for a visit by the monarch to New Zealand in 1940 were postponed by the outbreak of World War II. A 1949 tour by the king and queen to Australia and New Zealand was announced in early 1948, the first visit of a reigning monarch to the dominion.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Familton, Robert John; McLintock, A. H. (1966). "Coinage". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Wellington: R.E. Owen. OCLC   1014037525.
  2. 1 2 Stocker 2010, p. 182.
  3. Stocker 2005, p. 155.
  4. 1 2 Stocker 2010, pp. 185–188.
  5. King, Michael (2003). Penguin History of New Zealand. Auckland: Penguin Books. pp. 151–167.
  6. "Te Tiriti o Waitangi – Treaty of Waitangi". New Zealand Ministry of Justice. 27 March 2023.
  7. Ministry for Culture and Heritage (31 October 2014). "The first Waitangi Day". New Zealand History. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  8. Stocker 2010, pp. 187–188.
  9. Stocker 2011, p. 205.
  10. Stocker 2011, pp. 206–207.
  11. 1 2 Stocker 2011, pp. 207–208.
  12. "Humphrey Paget". The Royal Mint Museum. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  13. Stocker 2011, p. 208.
  14. Stocker 2011, pp. 208–210.
  15. Stocker 2011, pp. 210–211.
  16. Stocker 2011, p. 204.
  17. Stocker 2011, pp. 216–218.
  18. Stocker 2011, p. 221.
  19. "Proof Coin - 1/2 Crown, New Zealand, 1940". Museums Victoria Collections. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  20. Čuhaj, George S. (2015). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1900-2000 (41st ed.). Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications. p. 1633. ISBN   9781440240393.
  21. Bicknell, Paul Lawrence (December 2021). "The 1940 New Zealand Centennial Half-Crown". New Zealand Numismatic Journal. 101: 15–28.

Bibliography