New Zealand 1955 penny

from the Stack's Bowers 2017 NYINC sale, lot 7052

This specimen was lot 7052 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2017), where it sold for $493.50. The catalog description^[1] noted, "NEW ZEALAND. Penny, 1955. NGC PROOF-63 RB. Dusty russet tone to the obverse, while the reverse has a bit of a melange to its orange and brown tones." This bronze penny is a common date of a type struck 1953-65. In 1956, the obverse hub was modified to sharpen the sleeve of Her Majesty's dress. The misleadingly named "shoulder strap" variety is common for 1956-65, the "no shoulder strap" is common for 1953-55. In 1967, New Zealand abandoned the sterling coinage she had used since the days of Captain Cook and adopted the decimal dollar and cent. Silver was dropped from the coinage in 1947, same as Great Britain. The tui bird on the reverse is native to New Zealand.

Recorded mintage: 3,720,000 plus a few proofs.

Specification: 9.6 g, bronze, 31 mm diameter, designed by Mary Gillick and L.C Mitchell.

Catalog reference: KM 24.1.

Source:

• Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
• ^[1]Ponterio, Richard, The January 2017 NYINC Sale: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, featuring the Richard Stuart Collection, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2016.

Link to:

• 1954 penny
• 1955 half penny
• Australia 1955(m) penny
• Rhodesia and Nyasaland 1955 penny
• South Africa 1955 penny
• 1955 threepence
• 1955 sixpence
• 1955 shilling
• 1956 penny
• Coins and currency dated 1955
• return to coins of New Zealand