NEW COIN DESIGNS CHOSEN

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31086, 15 June 1966, Page 1

NEW COIN DESIGNS CHOSEN

(N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, June 14.

The modified designs for New Zealand’s six decimal coins were released by the Government this morning with the news that the final designs were still based on subjects which had won strong public support.

The Under-Secretary of Finance (Mr Muldoon) said the technical limitations of minting had fortunately not prevented the development of final designs based on subjects for which a strong measure of public support was demonstrated. “Because all six of the coin designs up to 50 cents were designed and modified where necessary by Mr James Berry, of Wellington, the set which will be in common use will possess a coherent artistic style,” said Mr Muldoon. A close examination of the coin designs shows that, although they basically follow the draft designs favoured by the public, there are a number of small changes. Mr Muldoon said today, the hand of Mr Berry was discernable in the modification of some of the designs. Compared with the draft designs, the following changes are noted:

1 Cent, fern leaf.—The number has been enlarged and brought up into the design. 2 Cent, kowhai flowers.—Few changes. 5 Cent, tuatara.—This has been redrawn, giving the tuatara bolder definition, and also enlarging the figure. 10 Cent, Maori mask.—This is almost a complete redesign, broadening the mask

so that it covers most of the coin, and dropping the words “one shilling” to the bottom of the coin. 20 Cent, kiwi and fern.—This has changed little, but differences in the fern treatment are noticeable. 50 Cent, Endeavour.—Few changes. One Dollar, arms and fern.— This stylised design, by Mr Gardner, of London, has been “cleaned up” a little. Professor J. Beadle’s proposed tuatara design for a 5-cent coin and a popular one in newspaper polls, has now been discarded. It is replaced by a tuatara by Mr J. Berry, originally designed for a 10-cent piece. Mr Muldoon said the tuatara and Maori mask designs had considerable support from the public, and to produce easier minting and a harmonious set, they were redrawn by Mr Berry in a form approved by the Royal mint. The commemorative dollar —which was not intended for circulation—would be issued in limited numbers.

It will bear the New Zealand shield of arms surrounded by fern leaves and around the outer rim—in place of milling—will be the words “decimal currency introduced July 10, 1967.” “By preserving in our coins the New Zealand shield of arms which appeared on the half-crown withdrawn in 1965, this commemorative dollar is a link with the designs of the coinage which is being replaced,” said Mr Muldoon. The one and two-cent coins will be made of bronze and the rest from cupro-nickel. The two smaller denomination coins will have plain edges, and the five, 10 and 20-cent coins will have standard milled edges. The 50-cent coin will have an alternate milled and plain edge. The obverse side of all the

coins will hold a new effigy of the Queen by Mr Arnold Machin, of the Royal Academy, London.

It shows the Queen in profile wearing a diamond tiara of festoons, scrolls and colletspikes. The wording “Elizabeth II” and “New Zealand” will be shown with the effigy, together with the date. Mr Muldoon paid tribute to the “unprecedented degree” of public interest in the design of the coinage and the work of newspapers in stimulating public interest. He expressed publicly the Government’s thanks to:

The designers who submitted

their creative ideas. The Coinage Design Advisory Committee and the Royal Mint Committee who assisted in developing the final designs. The newspapers who had done so much not only to _ stimulate public interest but to sample public opinion.

Those men, women and schoolchildren who studied the many ideas for coin designs which had been submitted and then took the trouble to make known their preferences.

“The coinage which has been developed is a direct result of this unprecedented degree of public interest. Mr Berry said he was “surprised and very, very pleased.” Some minor changes had still to be made but any change would be “very small,” he said. The Marine Department Is being approached to provide a view of Mt. Egmont from the sea for the background of the 50 cent coin, and some numbers on the coins may be altered in size. All of the Berry designs have been checked by experts and passed as authentic. One final set of drawings will be made by the artist but

there is a strong possibility his work may not end there. Mr Berry recently submitted plaster models of the 1 cent and 2 cent coins to the Treasury in London and he is hoping that these will be accepted as the models for the actual casting of the coins. “My immediate reaction is that it is a pity some of the others did not get a chance, but by choosing one artist you should at least have a theme that runs right through,” the president of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand (Mr B. G. Ham-

lin) said today, commenting upon the Government’s selection of Mr Berry’s designs. He said he felt that, generally, they were the ones most likely to form satisfactory coins and the ones that should be the most satisfactory to the public. “They have got more New Zealrnd flavour than most of the others but without being a little too self-consciously New Zealand as some of the other designs were. “It is certainly very gratifying that one of the society’s members achieved this distinction.”