New Zealand twenty-cent coin pegged to the British pound, was changed to a decimal dollar at a rate of two dollars to a pound. Therefore, 20 cents was worth a tenth of a pound. The 20-cent coin replaced the florin coin which had been worth two shillings, or a tenth of a pound. Like the florin, the new 20-cent coin was made of cupronickel, 28.58 mm in diameter, 11.31 grams in weight, and had 100% edge milling. The 20-cent coin retained the presence of a kiwi on the reverse of the florin, albeit in a different design. The original obverses of 20-cent coins depicted
Penny (British decimal coin) decimal currency, until 1984 the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Arnold Machin appeared on the obverse, in which the Queen wears the 'Girls of Great Britain and Ireland' Tiara. The words were inscribed above the portcullis up until 1981. From 1982 the inscription changed to . Between 1985 and 1997 the portrait by Raphael Maklouf was used, in which the Queen wears the George IV State Diadem. In 1992 the metal used in minting this coin was switched from bronze to copper-plated steel. Between 1998 and 2015 the portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley has been used, again featuring the tiara,