Coin Curiosity

Researching the history coins of the British Commonwealth

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1950 New Zealand Half Crown Varieties

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In 1950 the reverse design used for New Zealand half crowns underwent some small changes with both the old and new design being used in 1950. Such a change is not unusual, with many of New Zealand's predecimal designs undergoing at least one small change.

The exact reason for the design change is not clear but it was likely to improve die life: possibly the move to cupronickel coinage in 1947 necessitated the changes due to the harder alloy. Regardless, the change is easy to spot: on the older design the designer's initials KG are close to the diamond directly above while on the newer design the designer's initials KG are far from the diamond directly above. Neither variety is rare.