1 Cent Pattern

New Zealand decimalized on 10 July 1967, and the pattern issues of 1966 were struck specifically to test designs, dies, and planchet specifications ahead of that changeover. The Reserve Bank and the Royal Mint worked through several candidate compositions and sizes before settling on final production parameters. This particular bronze pattern preceded a cent that would itself be short-lived — the one-cent coin was demonetized in 1990 as inflation eroded its purchasing power to nothing.