NZ Update
FilamCoins
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New Coin Collectors Risk Getting Burnt
15 August 2006
David Galt, President of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand (Coin, Medal and Banknote Society) said today that the Society was delighted to see the huge increase in interest in coins and coin collecting over the last week. The number of TradeMe listings has suddenly doubled with many new people becoming collectors and taking an interest.
However, the upsurge has real risks for some new collectors and buyers.
Coin collecting, like many hobbies, is a specialist business. People getting involved should learn as much as they can quickly. The Society does not want to see new collectors getting burnt by buying items that will not hold their value.
New collectors need to know these things:
Of circulated New Zealand decimal coins, only the following can reasonably be said to be scarce:
2004 5 cent. The values of these on Trade-me are rapidly falling from the original $360 paid as many more come on the market, but do remain high.
2005 10 cent of which there have been few sales so far and which appear quite scarce in circulation.
2005 20 cent and 50 cent. Values being achieved for these now are ranging from around $5 to $15.
The Bahamas mule 2 cents, which combined a 1967 2 cent kowhai design with the Bahamas Queen’s portrait side.
1971 circulated coins in uncirculated condition, which differ slightly in design from those issued in sets.
Coins not issued for circulation, but only in sets or special issues for collectors by the Government through Treasury, the Reserve Bank and New Zealand Post. Normally these are in uncirculated condition or better, but there are a few now in general circulation. Worn examples do not sell well.
These are the facts:
Other circulated New Zealand decimal coins have little value beyond face value, unless in exceptionally high grade, such as uncirculated.
2004 10 cents, 20 cents and 50 cents are very common
2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 5 cents are very common
Australian 2004 5 cents are very common - there are more here in circulation in New Zealand by far than New Zealand 2004 5 cents
Complete official year and other sets are often cheaper to buy than the individual coins in them.
Putting high grade new or nearly new coins aside each year can be a good way to build a collection.
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Comments
Well, just Love coins, period.
The vast majority of people who collect coins do so for the enjoyment of the hobby. However, some collectable coins can be expensive. People who are new to coin collecting should spend some time getting basic information about the value of coins before they start buying them.
Supply and demand control the value of all items, coins are no exception. To be valuable a coin must be rare. However, for a given type of coin, the condition of the coin is crucial in determining value. For example, a New Zealand 1935 threepence, in uncirculated condition (put aside at the time of issue) is worth 10 times a 1935 threepence that was circulated (in our small change) for 30 years or more.
Condition relates more to “wear and tear” than it does to appearance. A clean, shiny coin is worthless if it is badly worn. Coins should not be polished and should only be cleaned by experts (and then, only in unusual circumstances).
New Zealand decimal currency coins
There are few rare decimal currency coins. The most recent example is the 2004 5-cent coin. Although 15,000,000 coins were made, only 32,000 coins were issued for circulation. The first sale of the coin on Trade-Me generated huge interest and a sale price of $360. Subsequent publicity has seen 50-100 coins put up for sale. Prices have remained above $100 in recent days, despite the large number of competing auctions. There is no doubt that this coin is scarce in comparison with other modern New Zealand circulating coins. It will be most interesting to see how many coins are eventually found. It will remain a collector’s item, but its “true” value is still to be determined (prices could go up, or down).
Also, of recent interest are the 2005, 10, 20, and 50 cent circulated coins. These coins are available in a “Small change” set that was issued by NZ Post (the sets sold out rapidly; they also contain the new smaller coins). Five thousand sets were issued, and they contain identical coins to those in circulation. Because of this, the value of the individual coins will always be linked to the value of the Small Change sets. The sets are currently selling for about $100. Few individual coins have been auctioned. Sales prices currently range from $5-$20. These coins will remain collectable. Circulated numbers were: 10 cent, 16,000; 20 cent, 178,000; 50 cent, 503,800, less 5,000 in each case for the “Small change” sets (but, of course, most these coins have already been returned to banks, and will subsequently be destroyed).
Earlier rare decimal coins are:
No date (1967) 2 cent “Bahamas mule”: “Bahama Islands” instead of “New Zealand”;
1967 5 cent, “No sea”: Lines representing the sea missing to the right of the tuatara;
1967 5 cent, “No tail”: Small triangular area of tail under the tuatara’s chin missing;
1971 10, 20, 50 cent, circulated: Differ slightly from those in sets. Only rare in uncirculated condition.
1967 50 cent, “dot over 1”: A dot over the “1” in “1967”.
There are other minor varieties, e.g., the 1999 5 cent coins, some have “rotation errors”, (two sides not properly aligned) and some have an unfortunate “wart” on the Queen’s nose.
Error coins are of interest to some collectors, e.g., blanks that were not stamped properly, or, for example, 10-cent blanks which were stamped with a 50-cent die. These can fetch in excess of $100.
Coin sets
As well as circulated coins, there are presentation year sets available. These generally contain additional coins that were never released for circulation. Such higher denomination coins can also be bought individually. For example, there is actually a series of New Zealand $10 coins. The year sets can be obtained in two different grades: brilliant uncirculated and proof. Proof coins are works of art, made from polished blanks which are individually stamped more than once to achieve a coin of the highest quality. Brilliant uncirculated coins are produced in a similar fashion to circulated grade coins. However, much more care is taken in their production and they have a higher quality finish than normal circulated coins. Depending on the mint which produces them, they may actually be stamped more than once.
Some coin collectors believe that most value is obtained from collecting only circulated coins and they avoid presentation packs. However, there are many collectors who appreciate the beauty of the higher quality coins, and some of the presentation packs, particularly those in recent years, are highly sought after and can be hard to obtain.
Care of coins
Handle with care. Hold by the rim. Do not polish coins. Only clean them if you are an expert. Use non-reacting “Mylar” plastic flips to store your coins, even if you use a coin album. Never store coins in damp conditions.
Where to get information
There are several experts who will help out on the “Collectors Forum” message board on TradeMe. But not everyone on TradeMe is an expert. Your best source of information is a coin club or society. Buy a recent catalogue to get an idea of value. Note, however, that catalogues show retail prices (these are not what a dealer will pay you!), and even the latest editions have not caught up with the latest developments regarding 2004 5c and 2005 10, 20 and 50c coins.
Every collector should visit the Reserve Bank website for information on mintage numbers and some history on New Zealand currency. The NZ Post website is a good place to see what the latest coin issues are.
To find out about how coins are made, visit the website of the Royal Australian Mint (who have made many of New Zealand’s coins).
be fascinating to see just how readily available these coins really are. It's likely the attri-
tion on mint sets is very high (NZ sets in this country have a high attrition). If it's high in
New Zealand as well there could be a lot fewer of many of these coins than is generally
assumed. When NZ sets are destroyed here the coins from it will usually survive as unc
singles but when US mint sets are destroyed here the coins tend to be spent and are wear-
ing out in circulation. The mintages of the NZ sets is sufficiently small(mostly 15,000-30,000)
that if large numbers of these coins went into circulation there would hardly be enough for
a mass market. More interest in New Zealand in the coins would likely spark more interest
world wide in the coins and the numbers of survivors could be low in many cases.
I've seen a few rolls of the coppers but none of the cu/ni.