Coin: Five Cents 1979 (mint sets only)
| Description | The New Zealand five-cent coin was the lowest denomination coin of the New Zealand dollar from 1990 to 2006. The five-cent coin was introduced when the New Zealand dollar was introduced on 10 July 1967, replacing the New Zealand sixpence coin, which - having exactly the same dimensions - remained legal tender and in parallel use.
Coins issued in 1979 were in mint sets only (not intended for circulation); any that were released would have circulated for 27 years before they were demonetised on 1 November 2006. |
| Country | New Zealand |
Currency | New Zealand Dollar |
| Face value | 5 (x Cent) |
Type | Five Cents |
| Year | 1979 |
Current | No (demonetised 2006) |
| Mintage | 41,000 (41000) |
|
| Mints |
|
| Material | CuproNickel |
Designer | Reginald George James Berry |
| Monarch | Queen Elizabeth II |
Effigy | Portrait by Arnold Machin (Second Portrait) |
| Production technology | Milled (machine-made) |
Shape | Round |
| Size (mm) | 19.4300 |
Thickness (mm) | 1.2400 |
| Mass (g) | 2.8300 |
| |
| Obverse | Diademed and draped bust of Queen Elizabeth II facing right (effigy known as the "Second portrait", by Arnold Machin); around, the monarch's legend ELIZABETH II NEW ZEALAND; below, the date 1979. |
| Obverse inscription |
ELIZABETH II NEW ZEALAND 1979
|
| Reverse | The last surviving member of an otherwise extinct family of reptiles, the tuatara (a lizard-like reptile), native only to New Zealand, is shown sitting on a coastal rock. Above in the background, a gull flying. Below, the denomination 5 [cents]. The designer's initials, JB (for [Reginald George] James Berry) are to the left of the lizard's tail. |
| Reverse inscription | 5 |
| Edge | Milled |
Edge inscription | None |
