Half Crown 1953, Coin from New Zealand - detailed information

Half Crown 1953, Coin from New Zealand (demonetised 1967)
CoinHalf Crown 1953

MintRoyal Mint Mint MarkNo mint mark Total Mintage127,000
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Obverse
New Zealand / Half Crown 1953 - obverse photo

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.

Obverse Inscription QUEEN ELIZABETH THE SECOND +
Reverse
New Zealand / Half Crown 1953 - reverse photo

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).

Reverse Inscription NEW ZEALAND HALF CROWN 1953
EdgeMilledEdge InscriptionNone
Notes

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."

Half Crown 1953: Known varieties
Variety Proof
Images New Zealand / Half Crown 1953 / Proof - obverse photo New Zealand / Half Crown 1953 / Proof - reverse photo
Mintage Issued: 7,000 (included in total)
Variety Matte proof
Mintage Issued: unknown
Half Crown 1953: References to Information Used
SourceEditionAboutLinkNotes
Museums Victoria Collections 2016 Coin description link
Royal Mint 1953 Mint
Royal Mint 1953 Mintage Circulation and proof mintage
Reserve Bank of New Zealand 15 Oct 2014 Mintage link Combined mintage
John Bertrand, New Zealand Coin and Banknote Catalogue 1965 Mintage Combined mintage
Renniks, New Zealand Coinage Guide 1965 - 1966 Mintage Circulation and proof mintage
Australian Coin Chart 1966 Mintage Combined mintage
Royal Mint 1953 Varieties Proof
Remick, Catalogue of British Commonwealth Coins 1971 Varieties Proof
Museums Victoria Collections 2016 Varieties link Proof
John Bertrand, New Zealand Coin and Banknote Catalogue 1965 - Valuations
Renniks, New Zealand Coinage Guide 1965 - 1966 Valuations
Half Crown 1953 / Best-effort future value guesstimates based on past value trends in currency: New Zealand Dollar (NZD)
Half Crown 1953 / Best-effort future value guesstimates based on past value trends in currency: US Dollar (USD)
MintVarietyGrade2018201920202021
See FAQ before use! This is not a proper prediction!
Royal MintUncirculated (UNC) 103.48 103.99 104.51 105.02
Royal MintAlmost Uncirculated (aUNC) 58.80 57.88 56.96 56.04
Royal MintExtra Fine (EF, XF) 34.30 33.76 33.22 32.69
Royal MintVery Fine (VF) 9.80 9.65 9.49 9.34
Royal MintFine (F) 5.88 5.79 5.70 5.60
MintVarietyGrade2018201920202021
See FAQ before use! This is not a proper prediction!
Royal MintMatte proofProof 218.40 211.08 203.76 196.45
Royal MintProofProof 18.06 17.49 16.93 16.36
Royal MintBrilliant Uncirculated (BU) 43.84 41.33 38.83 36.32
Royal MintUncirculated (UNC) 20.86 19.96 19.06 18.16
Royal MintExtra Fine (EF, XF) 16.02 15.32 14.63 13.93
Royal MintVery Fine (VF) 5.16 5.00 4.83 4.67
Royal MintFine (F) 3.65 3.66 3.66 3.66
Historic values in NZD for Half Crown 1953 / Royal Mint / (generated 8/2018). Inflation-corrected to 2017.
(hover mouse over grades in the left-hand column to see values highlighted; hover mouse over graph points to see exact values and additional information)
Historic values in USD for Half Crown 1953 / Royal Mint / (generated 8/2018). Inflation-corrected to 2017.
(hover mouse over grades in the left-hand column to see values highlighted; hover mouse over graph points to see exact values and additional information)
Historic values in USD for Half Crown 1953 / Matte proof / Royal Mint / (generated 8/2018). Inflation-corrected to 2017.
(hover mouse over grades in the left-hand column to see values highlighted; hover mouse over graph points to see exact values and additional information)
Historic values in USD for Half Crown 1953 / Proof / Royal Mint / (generated 8/2018). Inflation-corrected to 2017.
(hover mouse over grades in the left-hand column to see values highlighted; hover mouse over graph points to see exact values and additional information)
All (21) coins of type: Half Crown
Coin NameMintageEffigyLegend
Half Crown 1933 2,000,020 King George V - Crowned Bust, by Metcalfe GEORGE V KING EMPEROR
Half Crown 1934 2,720,020 King George V - Crowned Bust, by Metcalfe GEORGE V KING EMPEROR
Half Crown 1935 612,364 King George V - Crowned Bust, by Metcalfe GEORGE V KING EMPEROR
Half Crown 1937 672,200 King George VI - Bare Head GEORGE VI KING EMPEROR
Half Crown 1940 (Centennial) 100,800 King George VI - Bare Head GEORGE VI KING EMPEROR
Half Crown 1941 776,000 King George VI - Bare Head GEORGE VI KING EMPEROR
Half Crown 1942 240,000 King George VI - Bare Head GEORGE VI KING EMPEROR
Half Crown 1943 1,120,000 King George VI - Bare Head GEORGE VI KING EMPEROR
Half Crown 1944 180,000 King George VI - Bare Head GEORGE VI KING EMPEROR
Half Crown 1945 420,000 King George VI - Bare Head GEORGE VI KING EMPEROR
Half Crown 1946 960,000 King George VI - Bare Head GEORGE VI KING EMPEROR
Half Crown 1947 1,600,020 King George VI - Bare Head GEORGE VI KING EMPEROR
Half Crown 1948 1,400,000 King George VI - Bare Head KING GEORGE THE SIXTH
Half Crown 1949 2,800,000 King George VI - Bare Head KING GEORGE THE SIXTH
Half Crown 1950 3,600,000 King George VI - Bare Head KING GEORGE THE SIXTH
Half Crown 1951 1,200,000 King George VI - Bare Head KING GEORGE THE SIXTH
Half Crown 1953 127,000 Queen Elizabeth II - First Portrait QUEEN ELIZABETH THE SECOND +
Half Crown 1961 80,000 Queen Elizabeth II - First Portrait QUEEN ELIZABETH THE SECOND +
Half Crown 1962 600,000 Queen Elizabeth II - First Portrait QUEEN ELIZABETH THE SECOND +
Half Crown 1963 400,000 Queen Elizabeth II - First Portrait QUEEN ELIZABETH THE SECOND +
Half Crown 1965 (mint sets only) 225,010 Queen Elizabeth II - First Portrait QUEEN ELIZABETH THE SECOND +
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Half Crown 1953: Details
CountryNew Zealand
CurrencyNew Zealand Pound
Coin TypeHalf Crown (CuproNickel)
Issued1953
MonarchQueen Elizabeth II
EffigyQueen Elizabeth II - First Portrait, by Mary Gillick
Face Value2 1/2 (x Shilling)
Total Mintage127,000
CurrentNo; demonetised 1967
MaterialCuproNickel
DesignerGeorge Kruger Gray
TechnologyMilled (machine-made)
ShapeRound
Size32.0000 mm
Mass14.1000 g
OCC IDNRWK-ZEJN-CVLA-EXGL
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Half Crown 1953: Photos
ImageDetails
Half Crown 1953: Photo Proof Coin - 1/2 Crown, New Zealand, 1953 / thumbnail Proof Coin - 1/2 Crown, New Zealand, 1953
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY
Author:
Notes: Proof.
Source
Half Crown 1953: Photo Proof Coin - 1/2 Crown, New Zealand, 1953 / thumbnail Proof Coin - 1/2 Crown, New Zealand, 1953
Copyright: Museums Victoria / CC BY
Author:
Notes: Proof.
Source
Half Crown 1953: Catalogue Reference IDs