The E-Sylum:  Volume 9, Number 31, July 30, 2006, Article 15

NEW ZEALAND COIN SWITCH GETS UNDERWAY

Martin Purdy writes: "As we have discussed previously, New Zealand
changes over to its "smaller silver" coins tomorrow, 31 July.  It
will be interesting to watch how both the public and the shopkeepers
react to the reality.  One retailer insisted on charging my wife $2.00
for a $1.95 item last week "because they didn't want to get stuck with
5c pieces at the last minute"!  They clearly have missed the fact that
the "old" coins remain legal tender until 31 October.  We are both
carrying printouts from the Reserve Bank website
(www.newcoins.govt.nz) as evidence in case of any arguments now.

An item in the local "Dominion Post" yesterday mentioned that
Wellington parking meters will not be up to the task of coping with
two different sets of coins in circulation at the same time during
the transitional period.  Any "small" coins that are fed into meters
until they are converted will simply be lost to the user, while any
"large" coins that are fed into them after they are converted (i.e.
still during the three-month transitional period) will likewise be
wasted.  Parking meters clearly did not count as "vending machines",
the manufacturers and operators of which have had the past six months
to get their equipment adjusted.

One result of having the 10c as our smallest denomination is that our
coins will henceforth be truly "decimal", as opposed to "centesimal"."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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