Trial of the Pyx Trial of the Pyx The Trial of the Pyx () is the procedure in the United Kingdom for ensuring that newly minted coins conform to the required standards. These trials have been held from the twelfth century to the present day, normally once per calendar year. The form of the ceremony has been essentially the same since 1282 AD. These events are trials in the full judicial sense, presided over by a judge with an expert jury of metallurgical assayers. Given modern production methods, it is unlikely that coins would not conform, but this has been a problem in the
Coins of the New Zealand dollar to round the total price down (so that $4.99 became $4.95 instead of $5.00). Alternatively, many retailers rounded all their prices to the nearest 5 cents to avoid the issue entirely—so a New Zealand shopper often encountered products for sale at prices like $4.95. On 11 February 1991, $1 and $2 coins were introduced to replace the $1 and $2 notes in circulation. These coins were minted in aluminium bronze, and were the first New Zealand coins to be minted to metric specifications. At the same time, because the new $1 coin depicted a kiwi, the 20c coin reverse design