NEW SIXPENCES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 17, 20 January 1934, Page 11

NEW SIXPENCES.

FIRST SHIPMENT SOON

DESIGNS ALL CHOSEN. REPLACEMENT OF CtTRKEWCT. ~7 To the estimated value of £200,000, the initial consignment of the newlv-mintcd New Zealand sixpences is expected to reach the Dominion from the Royal Mint within the next fortnight. Selections for the designs of all the denominations were completed some time ago, and the work of minting those other than the halfcrowns, which have been in circulation for the past two months, is proceeding apace. Advices received in Auckland to-day indicate that the designs chosen for the florin, shilling, sixpence and threepence follow the attractive lines of the halfcrown, although the outstanding figures are necessarily different. It is understood that a rampant kiwi will distinguish the new two-shilling piece; the figure of a Maori warrior brandishing a taia will identify the shilling; the sixpence will carry a representation of the tui; and two meres crossed form the design of the threepenny bit. Proportions Defined. The official estimate is that more than <0,000,000 new silver coins will probably have to be circulated before the existing silver currency in the Dominion is replaced. One of the main difficulties facing the Treasury was to estimate tlvj proportions of all denominations in the total coinage in circulation. The basis of operation, however, is, roughly, as follows:—Half-crowns represented to £100 worth of silver —£35; florins, £30; shillings, £15; sixpences, £10; threepences, £10. The total value of the silver in the hands of the New Zealand public before the introduction of the new half-crowns was calculated at between £1,500,000 and £2,000,000. The first order placed with the Royal Mint was for £250,000 worth of haif-crowns, and to maintain the proportions the order for the florins was 30/35ths of the £250,000 value; that for shillings 15/35ths; and those for the sixpences and threepences, each 10/35tlis. At the end of the first cycle new silver coinage to the value of over £700,000 will have entered New Zealand. The same cycle will be repeated, twice if necessary, until the banks are satisfied that the people hold only new coins and until the banks' reserve stocks are restored to the normal level. ifenomination Values. On the assumption that the importation of £2,000,000 worth of silver coins will be necessary, the total value of each denomination and the number of coins in each will be as under: — Value —S Number. Half-crowns 700.000 5,G00,000 Florins 000,000 0,000,000 Shillings 300,000 0,000,000 Sixpences 200,000 8,000,000 Threepences 200,000 10,000,000 Total 2,000,000 41,G00,000 With the arrival of each denomination the new coins will be put into operation, and the process of replacement is expected to be fairly rapid. The complete quota of new half-crowns has now reached the Dominion.