Decision Next Month On Coin Designs

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31004, 9 March 1966, Page 14

Decision Next Month On Coin Designs

(from Our Own Reporter) WELLINGTON, March 8. Officials of the Decimal Currency Board hope a decision will be made about the middle of next month on the designs for the reverse side of New Zealand’s decimal coins.

The secretary of the board, Mr J. N. Searle, said yesterday that fresh designs would be submitted to the Royal Mint’s advisory committee this month.

The five persons who had been asked to submit fresh designs to the Coinage Design Advisory Committee had been asked to submit their designs to the committee by next Wednesday. Some fresh designs had already been received from them. Two of the five would submit sets of designs and two of the remaining three might also do this. The committee would make recommendations to the Government, wfliich would choose preferences and w'ould decide which designs should be sent to the Mint for study.

I At the same time as these were dispatched to the Mint, with indications of preferences, the designs submitted by Professor P. J. Beadle, of Auckland, would be sent. It was hoped the advisory’ committee would meet late next week to consider the fresh designs . At present the Mint had no designs submitted by New Zealand before it. Mr Searle said the board hoped the first supplies of one and two cent coins would arrive in New Zealand late this year or early next year. Deadlines for deciding the designs were still quite flexible. Officers of the board were continuing the task of assessing the degree of machine conversion involved in the change. About 70,500 machines would come into the A and B categories. Surveys so far had shown about 12.000 machines would not be suitable for shortened conversion and about 5000 might be similarly classified. The board was pushing ahead with plans for seminars to educate the public and business people in the handling of decimal currency. About 825.000 posters for distribution to householders were being printed. These covered several aspects of the change and would be the first official publicity releases featuring the board’s cartoon symbol, “Mr Dollar.”

Folders filled with notes for people who might be involved in educating shopkeepers, businessmen, office staff and others regularly involved in handling money had been prepared. “Play money” the same site as the new notes and

coins had been prepared. The coins were made of plastic and the notes of a stiff paper They would be available a. low cost to organisations who wished to become familiar with the size of the nev notes and coinage