The New Zealand sixpence is a coin of the

New Zealand pound The pound (symbol £, £NZ. for distinction) was the currency of New Zealand from 1933 until 1967, when it was replaced by the New Zealand dollar. Prior to this, New Zealand used the pound sterling since the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840. Like t ...

issued from 1933 to 1965. Equal to twice a threepence or half a

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currency, currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 1 ...

, 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 George Edward Kruger Gray (25 December 1880 – 2 May 1943) was an English artist, best remembered for his designs of coinage and stained glass windows. Personal life Kruger was born in 1880 at 126 Kensington Park Road, London, the son of a ...

, features a female

huia The huia ( ; ; ''Heteralocha acutirostris'') is an extinct species of New Zealand wattlebird, endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. The last confirmed sighting of a huia was in 1907, although there was another credible sighting in 1924 ...

, 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 Cupronickel or copper–nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper with nickel, usually along with small quantities of other metals added for strength, such as iron and manganese. The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent. ( Monel is a n ...

in 1947, the coin was minted with relative consistency until 1965, when it was discontinued following

decimalisation Decimalisation or decimalization (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the conversion of a system of currency or of weights and measures to units related by Power of 10, powers of 10. Most countries have ...

and the adoption of the

New Zealand dollar The New Zealand dollar (; currency sign, sign: $; ISO 4217, 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 New Zeal ...

Background

British silver coinage, including sixpences, first circulated in New Zealand during the early 19th century alongside various other silver coinage, including American, Spanish, French, and Dutch issues. The British

pound sterling Sterling (symbol: £; currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word '' pound'' is also used to refer to the British currency general ...

was confirmed as the sole legal tender in 1858, but had in effect been the sole circulating currency since 1847. Australia began issuing its own coinage in 1910, including the Australian sixpence. Widespread circulation of the Australian silver coinage in New Zealand began in 1930, when Australia devalued the Australian pound relative to the pound sterling. Large amounts of the devalued Australian currency began to flood into New Zealand, eventually making up 30–40% of all coinage in circulation by early 1933. The

counterfeiting A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...

of silver coins also increased during this period. New Zealand followed in devaluing the New Zealand pound in 1933, triggering mass smuggling of silver coinage to Britain and its other colonial possessions. After several decades of proposals, the New Zealand government pursued the creation of a domestic coinage the same year. The Coinage Act of 1933 outlined the weights and sizes of the six denominations of New Zealand silver coinage, defining the sixpence as a coin weighing 2.83 grams, with a

fineness The fineness of a precious metal object (coin, bar, jewelry, etc.) represents the weight of ''fine metal'' therein, in proportion to the total weight which includes alloying base metals and any impurities. Alloy metals are added to increase hard ...

of 0.500. The sixpence was worth two threepences, or half a

. Although domestic firms offered to produce the coinage, the New Zealand government deemed that domestic facilities were not sufficient for mass production, and contracted with the British

Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's official maker of British coins. It is currently located in Llantrisant, Wales, where it moved in 1968. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly ow ...

for minting.

Design

All coinage obverses from the initial 1933 issue featured a crowned bust of

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

Percy Metcalfe Percy Metcalfe, CVO, RDI (14 January 1895 Wakefield – 9 October 1970 Fulham Hospital, Hammersmith, London), (often spelled ''Metcalf'' without "e") was an English artist, sculptor and designer. He is recognised mostly for his coin designs ...

, initially for use on the

Southern Rhodesian pound The pound was the currency of Southern Rhodesia. It also circulated in Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The pound was subdivided into 20 ''shillings'', each of 12 ''penny, pence''. History From 1896, private banks issued notes denominated in £ ...

. This was based on an older crowned bust by Australian sculptor

Bertram Mackennal Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal (12 June 1863 – 10 October 1931), usually known as Bertram Mackennal, was an Australian sculptor and medallist, most famous for designing the coinage and stamps bearing the likeness of George V. He signed his work ...

, used on the coinage of other British colonies and dominions. Reverse designs were a matter of collaboration between the Royal Mint and the New Zealand government. Local artists and members of the New Zealand Numismatic Society were consulted throughout the design process, but British artists were tasked with creating an initial series of designs, despite requests from local art societies for domestic artistry of the coins. This task was given to Metcalfe and

, another prolific Royal Mint designer. The two were tasked to submit designs for each of the five initial silver denominations of coinage. Huia Buller

Metcalfe submitted a design for the sixpence featuring two hammers superimposed atop a sickle, most likely inspired by the mining hammers featured on the national coat of arms. This design, due to its resemblance to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

hammer and sickle The hammer and sickle (Unicode: ) is a communist symbol representing proletarian solidarity between industrial and agricultural workers. It was first adopted during the Russian Revolution at the end of World War I, the hammer representing wo ...

iconography, was strongly rejected by the Royal Mint's Advisory Committee for "undesirable political associations." Two alternate designs for the sixpence from Metcalfe, both featuring a stylised six surrounded by the letters "NZ", were described as banal and austere. Kruger Gray submitted a design featuring crossed taiaha, similar in design to his earlier Southern Rhodesian threepence. This design was rejected by the Advisory Committee due to the impossibility of showing the majority of the spears' hafts. The committee recommended an alternate design containing a

silver fern ''Alsophila tricolor'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Cyathea dealbata'', commonly known as the silver fern or silver tree-fern, or as ponga or punga (from Māori language, Māori or ),The Māori word , pronounced , has been borrowed into Ne ...

motif; his updated model showed two crossed ferns. New Zealand's prime minister George Forbes held a weak premiership, and finance minister

Gordon Coates Joseph Gordon Coates (3 February 1878 – 27 May 1943) served as the 21st prime minister of New Zealand from 1925 to 1928. He was the third successive Reform prime minister since 1912. Born in rural Northland, Coates grew up on a farm, which ...

served de facto as acting prime minister, especially during Forbes' extended stays in Britain. In July 1933, Coates appointed a Coinage Design Committee, separate from the Royal Mint, composed of various local artists alongside members of the New Zealand Numismatic Society. This new committee took significant issue with the Advisory Committee's approved coinage designs. A

was suggested by the Design Committee, as fern designs were considered difficult to replicate on coinage. Kruger Gray referenced a huia depiction by J.G. Keulemans in '' A History of the Birds of New Zealand''. Choosing a female bird to its curved beak, he rendered the bird on a branch against instructions for a plain field, claiming "I do not see how one can use the Huia without a branch!" Following examination by the New Zealand committee and small modifications to the branch, the coin was approved for production. The first sixpences, dated 1933, entered the country in January 1934.

Reception

Ethnologist Johannes Andersen, writing for ''The Dominion'', described the huia on the coin's reverse as "attractive", but unsatisfactorily designed, due to poorly-rendered wings and a lack of differentiation on the white feathers at the end of the bird's tail.

Mintage

Sixpence mintages were generally consistent throughout their period of circulation, with no key dates. They were issued for every year except 1938 and 1949. Due to high prices of silver in the years following World War II, previously silver denominations (including the threepence) were instead made of a

alloy from 1947, besides a

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

issue in 1949. Much silver coinage was recalled from circulation and melted down by banks. The sixpence was abolished in 1967 in favour of the new denominations of the New Zealand dollar. Other than proof sets issued in 1935 and 1953,

proof Proof most often refers to: * Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition * Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength Proof may also refer to: Mathematics and formal logic * Formal proof, a co ...

sixpences were issued in extremely small numbers during most years of their production. Only twenty proof sixpences were made in 1933 and 1934. 25,000 "prooflike" sixpences were issued as part of a 1965 collector's set, alongside 10 proofs.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

* {{New Zealand currency and coinage 1933 establishments in New Zealand Coins of New Zealand 1933 introductions 1967 disestablishments in New Zealand