Summary

1/2 Penny, Issued by New Zealand, 1940
Minted by Royal Mint, London

Obverse Description

Bare head facing left; around, GEORGE VI KING EMPEROR; below neck in small letters the artist's initials, HP (Humphrey Paget)

Reverse Description

At centre, between two Maori scroll designs, a tiki; around, NEW ZEALAND HALF PENNY; below, 1940

Edge Description

Plain

Significance

'To commemorate the centenary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 by which the native chiefs ceded the sovereignty of New Zealand to the British Crown, the New Zealand Government authorised the issue of a half-crown of special design. This occasion was also marked by the issue of penny and halfpenny coins to complete the series of New Zealand coins of distinctive design.' Annual Report of the Deputy Master and Comptroller of the Royal Mint, 1939, p. 5.

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