Cafe owner has no qualms about refusing old coins

Wellington cafe owner John Matias has no qualms about refusing to accept the old 5c, 10c, 20c and 50c coins, despite them still being legal tender.

Signs outside his two downtown cafes since Friday state they will accept only the new 10c, 20c and 50c coins, which the Reserve Bank launched into general circulation yesterday.

Retailers are obliged to accept the old coins, which are legal tender until the end of October, unless they clearly show otherwise.

Mr Matias said he thought it was the best way to get the old coins out of circulation. "If they take the old coins to the bank on the corner, they'll get out of circulation faster.

"It's business as usual. No one has looked at the sign and walked away."

Retailers Association chief executive John Albertson said shop owners were entitled to refuse old coins, but he urged them to play a part in the transition.

"People will want to get rid of their old coins, and retailers can assist by putting it through their banking."

The association is also advising retailers to tell customers of their rounding practices without the 5c coin, which is being phased out.

The introduction of the steel-plated coins is the biggest shake-up to New Zealand currency since the system went decimal in 1967.

The Reserve Bank has been preparing for the change since 2003 after the old coins were deemed too heavy, bulky and expensive.

Cheaper production costs would save the bank $3 million a year, said Alan Boaden, the bank's manager of the new coin project.

He declined to say how much the first batch had cost, but "the money from selling the metal from the old coins means we'll just about break even".

The metal would be sold to make coins in other countries, he said.

He admitted the new coins looked a bit like play-money at first glance and would take time to get used to.

"But in six months, people will hopefully look at the old 50c coin - one of the biggest in the world - and say, 'gee, this is a chunky ol' thing'."

The Reserve Bank has consulted groups with an interest in the new coins, including the vending machine industry and the Foundation of the Blind.

"I can easily differentiate between them," said Mary Schnackenberg, of the Foundation of the Blind. The 20c piece has seven grooves in its edge, while the 10c and 50c pieces have smooth edges.

The 5c coin is being phased out because inflation has eroded its value.


CHANGING TIMES

* 230 million new 10c, 20c and 50c coins came into circulation yesterday. The 5c coin is being phased out. The old coins will no longer be legal tender from November 1, but the Reserve Bank will continue to accept them.

* The Reserve Bank has distributed 83 million coins weighing about 330 tonnes to bank branches nationwide over the past month.

* The coins are up to 65 per cent lighter than the old ones. The designs are unchanged, though the 10c piece is copper-coloured.

* Each coin has an electromagnetic thumbprint.