NICKEL PENNIES

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8362, 24 February 1913, Page 10

NICKEL PENNIES

NEW COINS FOR AUSTRALIA. PRINTING £10,000,000 IN NOTES. Before his departure to Kalgoorlie last week, says the Sydney “Sun, Mr Fisher, Federal Prime Minister, authorised an important reform ia tho Australian currency. He has decided that copper coins shall be superseded by nickel coins, and the necessary arrangements are now being put through by Mr George Allen, secretary to the Treasury. The exact design of the new nickel coinage has not been decided upon, but Mr Fisher and Mr Allen are both agreed that the edges are to be scalloped. This is preferred to the Belgian practice of making a small hole low down in the coin to assist in its identification in the dark. The Australian nickel coins will therefore resemble those of India, which can with great ease be identified by the sense of touch, and look comely. The edges resemble the ridges of mountains, as as shown on school atlases. The supplanting of the old copper pennies and half-pennies will take several years, but it will not be long before the new nickel coins are in general use throughout Australia. In size the new penny will be slightly larger than the present sixpenny bit, and the halfpenny rather■larger than the threepenny piece. The British Mint will be asked by the Treasury to commence as soon as possible to make the new Australian coinage. It will he more expensive to produce than the old copper pieces, but a profit will remain to the Treasury, and the convenience to the public will be great. The nickel coinage of India and the United States has about 75 per cent, of copper in it, and it is proposed to adopt this standard in the composition of the Australian coinage. Another important currency change will come next month. This will be the issue of the new 10s notes. Mr Fisher has directed that they be the first printed by the new Government note printer, Mr Harrison, and it is promised that the first will be issued to the banks in March. Treasury officials expect a great popularity for these notes. Mr Harrison has imported a Hoe printing machine, and by April will bo printing 14,000 Australian notes a day. The new issue, composed of designs declared by London experts to be the finest banknote designs in the world, will take the place of the old, which will gradually be called in through the banks. Mr Harrison has the task of printing about 5,000,000 paper notes, representing nearly £lO,000,000, in addition to the new 10s issue.