New Zealand | |
| Value | 3d (£NZ) |
|---|---|
| Mass | 1.41 g |
| Diameter | 16.3 mm |
| Edge | Plain |
| Composition | 1933–1946: 50% silver, 50% quaternary alloy 1947–1965: cupronickel (75% copper, 25% nickel) |
| Years of minting | 1933–1965 |
| Obverse | |
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| Design | Crowned bust of George V |
| Designer | Percy Metcalfe |
| Reverse | |
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| Design | Crossed patu clubs. |
| Designer | George Kruger Gray |
The New Zealand threepence is a coin of the New Zealand pound issued from 1933 to 1965. Equal to three pence, the coin was the smallest in size of all New Zealand pound coinage and the smallest in denomination of the initial 1933 issue of New Zealand pound coinage, produced due to shortages of British silver coins resulting from the devaluation of local currency relative to the pound sterling. British artist George Kruger Gray designed the coin's reverse design after an earlier pattern design featuring a hei-tiki was rejected by a coinage design committee organised by Gordon Coates. It features two crossed patu (ornamental Māori clubs) below the label "3d". Initially struck in silver by the Royal Mint, it was struck in cupronickel from 1947 onward due to rising precious metal prices. Following decimalisation in 1967, the threepence was replaced by the coinage of the New Zealand dollar.