New Currency

I finally got my grubby little mitts on a new 10c coin. Well, actually, Marshmallow let me hold one of hers last week, but that wasn't quite the same. I now I have one all of my very own.

In the unlikely event that I'm not the last person in NZ to fondle all the new currency, here is the comparison between old and new:

I don't really mind that the good old tuatara is no more - 5c coins were just annoying. But I am kinda sad to see the end of the old kiwi design 20c piece. I know they stopped minting them in 1990 when they brought out the $1 & $2 coins, but it's always seemed to be the most common 20c coin. I don't really like the new 20c design. I mean, we already have a tiki face on the 10c - couldn't they think of something else?

The new 50c and 20c coins are about 40% smaller and 60% lighter than the old ones. The 10c is about 15% smaller and 40% lighter. It really does make a difference in the amount of change you can carry around easily. The old 50c weighed nearly 14 grams, wheras the new one is only 5 grams.

Now, I know this is weird, but it does feel like the new coins remove a link to our history. I pulled three old coins out of my purse for comparison: a10c coin from 1970, a 20c coin from 1989 and a 50c coin from 2001. The queen looks different on each of those coins; you can see her aging.

And that 10c coin has been circulating around New Zealand since 8 years before I was born! Imagine where it's been and what it's seen. It just seems a little sad that they are now all going to be withdrawn and melted down.