New Zealand Centennial Half-Crown 1840 - 1940

This is a die trial or strike for the New Zealand Centennial Half-Crown 1840 - 1940, a commemorative coin that was released in 1940 to mark the hundredth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (see NU004530).

In 1938, the New Zealand government sponsored a design competition for the commemorative half-crown. The competition was won by Leonard Cornwall Mitchell (1901-1971), a commercial artist who designed stamps for the New Zealand Post Office, and posters and illustrations for the Tourist and Publicity Department.

His design for the obverse of the coin features a Māori woman, dressed in a piupiu and bodice, with poi tucked into her waist-band, and a hei tiki around her neck. The sun rises behind her head forming a halo. Her arms outstretched, she stands infront of a Māori whare and pā on one side, and a modern cityscape on the other.

The reverse is blank.

The coin was struck by the Royal Mint.