New Zealand Penny

The New Zealand penny is the large bronze coin that circulated before the country decimalised in 1967. The example shown is a George VI issue: the obverse carries the king's bare head facing left with a Latin legend, while the reverse shows a tui—a native New Zealand songbird—perched on a branch among fern foliage, with NEW ZEALAND, ONE PENNY and the date 1940.

At roughly 31 mm across and about 9.4 grams, it is a big, heavy coin by modern standards. Twelve pennies made a shilling and 240 made a pound, following the same pre-decimal scheme used across the British Commonwealth of the day.

The 1940 date is the first year the New Zealand penny was struck and coincides with the country's centennial. Many dates in the series are common in worn condition, so collector interest tends to focus on grade, specific scarcer dates and varieties rather than the type as a whole.

New Zealand used British and Australian coins for much of its early history and only introduced its own distinct coinage in 1933, beginning with silver denominations. Bronze pennies and halfpennies did not follow until 1940, which is why 1940 is the first year for the New Zealand penny and why that inaugural issue is tied to the nation's 1940 centennial celebrations.

The reverse design, featuring a tui on a branch with fern fronds, was the work of New Zealand artist Leonard Cornwall Mitchell and gave the coin a strongly local character in place of the imperial motifs seen on earlier circulating money. The George VI obverse shows the king bare-headed and facing left, engraved by Thomas Humphrey Paget; the accompanying Latin legend named the monarch and, on earlier issues, his imperial titles.

The penny continued through the reign of George VI and into that of Elizabeth II, remaining a large bronze piece until New Zealand adopted decimal currency on 10 July 1967. Decimalisation retired the old penny in favour of the new cent-based system, ending more than a century of the pounds-shillings-pence tradition in New Zealand.

Look for a large bronze coin about 31 mm in diameter and around 9.4 g, distinctly bigger and heavier than a modern coin. The obverse shows a bare-headed king facing left with a Latin legend built around GEORGIVS VI, the abbreviated titling for George VI. The reverse is the key diagnostic: a tui bird perched on a branch surrounded by fern foliage, with NEW ZEALAND above, ONE PENNY and the date below.

The date is the fastest way to place a specific coin. A reading of 1940 marks the first year of issue and the centennial year. The metal is bronze, so expect a warm brown tone rather than the bright reddish shine of pure copper or the white of silver.

The combination of a left-facing George VI portrait and the tui-and-fern reverse identifies this as a George VI New Zealand penny. Later pennies in the series carry Elizabeth II on the obverse but keep the same tui reverse design.

The New Zealand penny is a plentiful coin, and ordinary circulated examples are worth only modest sums—typically a little above face or metal value. Their appeal is largely historical and nostalgic, and worn common dates remain inexpensive.

Premiums attach to better-preserved coins with sharp, unworn detail on the tui and fern, and to the scarcer dates and varieties within the series. Condition and the exact date matter far more than the type name, so a crisp uncirculated piece can be worth a substantial multiple of a well-worn one.

If you have a penny you believe is unusual, confirm the exact date and examine the surfaces for original detail before assuming value. For anything potentially scarce or high grade, compare it against a current price guide or seek a specialist opinion rather than relying on the common-date baseline.