New Zealand Proof Set

The 1969 New Zealand Proof Set was among the first to feature the country's decimal coins in a specially polished finish, a direct response to the 1967 currency overhaul that replaced pounds with dollars.

These sets contained six coins, from the one-cent piece to the fifty-cent, all struck at the Royal Mint in London since New Zealand lacked its own facility at the time. The designs, by artist Leonard Mitchell, incorporated Maori elements like the kiwi bird and fern, though the execution varied in detail from year to year.

Mintage figures are murky; official records from that era weren't always precise. Still, these sets remain a solid pick for collectors building a decimal series.

What surprises me is how often people confuse them with the 1967 set, thinking it's the debut. It wasn't.