Story: Coins and banknotes

Rejected coin designs (1st of 2)

Rejected coin designs

The change to a New Zealand currency presented an opportunity for new-look coins. A range of designs were submitted by two English coin designers, Percy Metcalfe and George Kruger Gray. These are some of the designs that were rejected by the Coins Design Committee. Metcalfe's sixpences and the shilling containing a kiwi (second row) appear particularly modern in their simplicity and use of geometric forms.

Some of the designs employed more British than New Zealand iconography. Though Metcalfe's florin (top row, second from left) takes its lead from the New Zealand coat of arms, his sheep's fleece did not suggest New Zealand. Nor would Kruger Gray's two-shilling piece (third row, second from left) with its Union Jack flag and British lion have evoked thoughts of New Zealand, despite the inclusion of Māori koru patterns.

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Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand
Reference: Allan Sutherland, Numismatic history of New Zealand: history reflected in money and medals. Wellington: New Zealand Numismatic Society, 1961, plate 7.

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How to cite this page:

Kerryn Pollock, 'Coins and banknotes - A national currency, 1930s to 1960s', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/document/36387/rejected-coin-designs (accessed 19 March 2024)

Story by Kerryn Pollock, published 20 Jun 2012