50 Cents - Elizabeth II 3rd portrait

New Zealand's 50-cent piece survived the 1990 decimalization review that killed off the 1-cent and 2-cent coins, but its days were already numbered. The cupro-nickel 50-cent was eventually discontinued in 2006 when the entire coinage was downsized — the replacement 50-cent struck in that reform is noticeably smaller and lighter. Pieces from the late 1980s and early 1990s circulated heavily alongside the transition period coinage, and well-worn examples from this run are far more common than uncirculated survivors.