27 April 2023
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New Zealand Post have launched a range of coins to celebrate the coronation, each featuring a new effigy of King Charles III created by Wellington-based designer and illustrator Stephen Fuller
Issued by NZ Post under license from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and produced in Germany by BH Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt GmbH, the New Zealand coins feature a selection of portraits of the King, with each coin featuring the same effigy. This portrait, personally approved by the King, has been created specifically for commemorative coins and it is unlikely that the same design will be used on the country’s circulation coinage.
The range of coins on offer includes a 0.5g Gold Proof Coin featuring the King’s royal cypher on the reverse (below); a 1/4oz Gold Proof Coin showing the St Edward’s Crown; a 2oz Gold Proof Coin featuring an engraved portrait of the King in military uniform; a 1oz Silver Proof Coin with a reverse featuring a colour portrait of the King and a 5oz Silver Proof Coin featuring a colour portrait of the King in his Queen’s Guard uniform (illustrated right).
NZ Post’s Head of Stamps and Collectables Antony Harris said: ‘We’re delighted to be releasing commemorative legal tender coins celebrating the King’s coronation. King Charles III will be the first king of New Zealand to appear on our decimal currency, and it is fitting that the first appearance of His Majesty’s effigy will be on coins commemorating the coronation.’
NZ Post will also issue stamps to commemorate the accession and coronation of the King. New Zealand’s own coins have always featured a portrait of the reigning monarch, beginning with King George V in 1933 when New Zealand coinage was first introduced to replace British currency. As is tradition, the King’s portrait faces in the opposite direction of his predecessor, Queen Elizabeth II.
The King Charles III commemorative coins will be released on
3 May 2023. For more information visit: collectables.nzpost.co.nz
