1 Shilling - George V

New Zealand's first domestic coinage series — of which this shilling is part — was authorized following the passage of the Coinage Act 1933, ending the country's reliance on British-struck coins circulating without local identity. The Royal Mint in London produced all pieces in the inaugural series, as New Zealand had no mint of its own.

The .500 fine silver specification matched contemporary British practice, though it was already a step down from the .925 standard abandoned by Britain after the First World War's fiscal strain.