New Zealand 1971 One Cent

An obverse die for the 1971 New Zealand circulation One-Cent coin has been rediscovered from the estate of a major collection held in Australia, with Aventine Numismatics having this unique opportunity to document such an exceptional numismatic artifact. 

Dimensions 

Weight: 13.77g

Diameter: 17.5mm

Metallurgical Composition

Iron: 98.6%

Nickle: 0.8%

Manganese: 0.4% 

Chromium: 0.2%

Obverse

Second crowned portrait of Queen Elizabeth II facing right, wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara, legend around, 1971 date below, serif / circulation variate, used at the Canberra mint branch. 

New Zealand's decimal currency system was introduced on 10th July 1967, featuring coinage denominations of 1c, 2c, 5c, 10c, 20c, and 50c. During this period, a handful of patterns were created to trial out different obverse designs, including a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by James Berry. While Berry's portrait was ultimately rejected for circulating coinage, it was later approved for commemorative dollar coins.

The chosen obverse, designed by Arnold Machin, was produced by the Royal Mint with dies such as this example used to strike 1c coins dated 1971. 

Surviving coinage dies are exceedingly rare and are typically held in institutional collections, making this discovery particularly remarkable. Another New Zealand coin die — the reverse for a pre-decimal penny — is rumored in the 1980s to exist in a private collection.