New Zealand: Coin Half Crown 1953 - detailed information

Laureate bust of Queen Elizabeth II facing right (the effigy by Mary Gillick known as the "First portrait"); the designer's initials, M.G., appear incuse on the base of the neck truncation. The monarch's legend QUEEN ELIZABETH THE SECOND + runs continuously all around the bust.

Shield of Arms of the Dominion of New Zealand: a shield quartered with the Southern Cross, a wheat sheaf, a lamb suspended by a ribbon and mining hammers crossed divided by three ships, surmounted by the Royal Crown and surrounded by ornamentation inspired by Maori carvings; around, NEW ZEALAND HALF CROWN; below, the date 1953; in small letters to right of date the artist's initials KG (for [George] Kruger Gray).

The Queen's effigy on the 1953 coins has a small variation from the standard in that there are no shoulder straps visible.

Reference to original information:

84th Annual Report of the Deputy Master and Comptroller of the Royal Mint 1953, p.8.:

"New Zealand - 250,000 crowns, 120,000 halfcrowns, 250,000 florins, 200,000 shillings, 1,200,000 sixpences, 4,000,000 threepences, 2,400,000 pennies and 120,000 halfpence were struck.

All bore on the obverse the uncrowned effigy of Her Majesty by Mrs. Gillick, O.B.E., together with the inscription "QUEEN ELIZABETH THE SECOND". The reverse designs of the denominations from the halfpenny to the halfcrown were unchanged, but the reverse design of the crown was new.

It consisted of a Maori carving, surmounted by the crowned Royal Cypher, all between five-pointed stars, representing the Southern Cross, and the inscription "NEW ZEALAND CROWN 1953". Mr. T.H. Paget modeled the design in plaster according to a drawing from New Zealand. The design is illustrated in Plate A, Fig. 9.

7,000 specimen sets of all denominations were also supplied in cases."