1/2 Crown - George VI 2nd type

The shift to copper-nickel in 1947 was a direct consequence of postwar silver shortages and British Treasury pressure to conserve strategic metal reserves across the Commonwealth. New Zealand's pre-1947 halfcrowns had been struck in 50% silver; the composition change was abrupt and applied mid-reign without a redesign. KM#11a is otherwise identical to its silver predecessor — same dies, same dimensions — which occasionally causes misattribution when examples are handled without a scale or specific gravity test.