The 1935 Waitangi Crown is the “king of New Zealand coins” — a one-year crown commemorating the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, struck in tiny numbers at the Royal Mint, London, with the famous handshake of Māori chief Tāmati Wāka Nene and Captain William Hobson on the reverse. It is one of the great classic crowns of the 20th century. This entry covers specs, the issue story, and the three release formats.
Key facts
- Issued 1935 to commemorate the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand’s founding document; reverse shows Nene and Hobson shaking hands beneath a crown, “NEW ZEALAND CROWN / 1935 / WAITANGI” (designers James Berry and Percy Metcalfe).
- Total mintage 1,128 coins including 468 proofs; released in three formats: uncirculated single coins, proofs, and full 1935 proof sets; sold at 7s 6d per crown in New Zealand during the Depression.
- Specs: .500 silver, 28.28 g, ~38.6–38.8 mm, milled edge; struck at the Royal Mint, London, on silver from the Martha Mine at Waihi.
- Many examples show bag marks because the first shipment traveled in unsecured mint bags — original high-grade survivors are the prize (condition observation from the 1936 High Commission complaint, not a value claim).
- Heritage Auctions describes it as “one of the great classic crowns of the 20th century.”