Six New Zealand coins of 1980–1981, from 1 to 50 cents, and a postage stamp in a souvenir pack: the full range of circulating denominations from the days when 50 cents was still the largest coin and the dollar existed only as a banknote.

All the reverses go back to the first decimal series of 1967: a silver fern on the 1 cent, kōwhai flowers on the 2 cents, a tuatara on the 5 cents, a carved Māori mask on the 10 cents, a kiwi on the 20 cents and James Cook’s barque Endeavour before Mount Taranaki on the 50 cents. The obverses carry Arnold Machin’s portrait of Elizabeth II, used on New Zealand coins from 1967 to 1985.

The set records a system that no longer exists. Issue of the 1 and 2 cents stopped on 31 March 1989 and they were demonetised on 30 April 1990; the 5 cents was withdrawn in 2006, when the 10, 20 and 50 cents also became smaller and moved to plated steel, while the kiwi had already left the 20 cents for the new one-dollar coin in the early 1990s.

For a New Zealand collection it is a convenient way to hold the whole early decimal range in one set, and the stamp adds a philatelic touch. Grade UNC: the coins never circulated and show no wear.

At VPcoins you can build a coin collection around a favourite theme, from animals to great historical figures.