New Zealand | |
| Value | 0.50 New Zealand dollars |
|---|---|
| Mass | 5.00 g |
| Diameter | 24.75 mm |
| Thickness | 1.70 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Composition | nickel-plated steel |
| Years of minting | 1967 – present |
| Catalog number | – |
| Obverse | |
| Design | Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand |
| Designer | Ian Rank-Broadley |
| Design date | 1999 |
| Reverse | |
| Design | Captain Cook's HMS Endeavour near Mount Taranaki |
| Designer | Reginald George James Berry |
| Design date | 1967 |
The New Zealand fifty-cent coin is a coin of the New Zealand dollar. It was the largest by denomination, diameter and mass to have been introduced on the decimalisation of the currency on 10 July 1967, replacing the pre-decimal crown coin (five shillings). A total of 81,585,200 pre-2006 50 cent coins were issued, with a total value of $40,792,600.00
On 31 July 2006, as part of a revision of New Zealand's coinage, the fifty cent was made smaller, lighter and of a cheaper alloy (nickel-plated steel). On 1 November of that year the previous larger fifty cent coin was demonetised.[1]
Both the larger and smaller coin featured on its reverse the ship HMS Endeavour on which Captain Cook became the first Briton to reach New Zealand, in October 1769. The obverse, as per all New Zealand coins, features the reigning monarch, which throughout the coin's mintage has only been Queen Elizabeth II.
- ^ "Background information". Archived from the original on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.