NEWS RELEASE
The Reserve Bank announced today that New Zealanders would soon see a new portrait of the Queen on their coins.
The first New Zealand circulating coins with the new portrait will be the 5 cent and $2 coins.
Reserve Bank Currency Department Chief Manager Brian Lang said today: "New stocks of 5 cent coins, which are likely to
be issued into circulation next month, will feature the updated portrait of Her Majesty. The next batch of $2 coins will
also feature the new portrait, but they will not appear until later in the year. Other coin denominations will carry the
portrait when new stocks are next ordered.
"Apart from the new portrait, we have made no other changes to the coins.
"This is an image reflecting the Queen as she is today", Mr Lang said. "It will be the fourth portrait of the Queen on
New Zealand's coins since Her Majesty's accession to the throne in 1953. The U.K. and Australia are also changing their
coinage to include the new picture".
The new portrait has been approved by the Queen herself and was designed by Ian Rank-Broadley. An English designer, Mr
Rank-Broadley won a portrait design competition commissioned in 1997 by the British Royal Mint's Advisory Committee.