It’s over two years since Queen Elizabeth II died and some of us are getting impatient to see the current monarch on our currency. It seems that the Reserve Bank is dragging its feet on the issue.
Of course, this is the first change of monarch we’ve had since New Zealand moved to decimal currency in 1967, and only the fourth since the Reserve Bank of New Zealand was established (1930) and began producing coins (1933) and banknotes(1934). On top of that, there are no New Zealand coins featuring King Edward VIII, who abdicated in the same year as his accession. So it’s a bit hard to say with any confidence what the precedent is.
Here are the facts we know: George VI became King on his brother’s abdication in December 1936, and he appeared on New Zealand coins in 1937. Elizabeth II succeeded him in February 1952, and appeared on coins in 1953. So the precedent, such as it is, is for the new monarch to arrive on the coinage the year following his or her accession. That makes sense, since coins are only minted once a year.
In Britain, the Royal Mint is all ready in advance with an effigy of the heir to the throne that it can start minting as soon as the succession takes place but the coins don’t go into general circulation until the beginning of the following year. British coins showed King Charles III from the beginning of 2023, which now puts us two years behind.
The good news for enthusiasts is that New Zealand coins entering circulation in 2025 are to feature the King – so we can be on the lookout for those. Old coins still make up at least 80 per cent of those in circulation, though, and take decades to disappear altogether.
When it comes to banknotes, that’s a bit of a different story. The first New Zealand pound notes actually featured the Māori king. The second series, begun in 1840, showed Captain Cook. The Queen did not put in an appearance until the change to decimal currency in 1967. That will make King Charles only the second British monarch to appear on New Zealand paper money, and it seems that the Reserve Bank is not in a hurry to make the change. New Zealand’s banknotes are currently (pun intended) printed in Canada and an order goes out only once a year or even every two years. Britain’s paper money updates slowly – they only started using notes with the King’s effigy in June – and there is still no word on when our new notes will arrive. It’s only the $20 note that needs to change, of course, and the Reserve Bank has indicated that they won’t be ordering them until the supply runs low, which won’t be for some time.
In keeping with his long-held environmentalist views, the King has said that he doesn’t want anything to be wasted on his account. So don’t hold your breath waiting for the new notes. But from now on you can keep an eye out and try to be the first one to spot one of the new coins.
