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Recent issues Stamps & coins
King Charles III
Charles III, the King of New Zealand, succeeded his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, as sovereign immediately upon her death on 8 September 2022. This was to ensure that there was never a moment in which the nation was without a monarch.
To commemorate the accession of the King, this stamp issue featuring four recent portraits was issued just days before his coronation. The coronation confers no special powers and does not affect the legal validity of the sovereign’s position. Nevertheless, it is an important day in the history of the nation, a vibrant shared experience for the public, and an occasion of deep personal significance in the life of the monarch.
Technical information
Date of issue: 3 May 2023
Designer: Hannah Fortune, NZ Post, Wellington, New Zealand
Printer: Brebner Print, Napier, New Zealand
Withdrawal date: 2 May 2024
NZ2023 International Stamp Exhibition
Held on 4-7 May 2023, NZ2023 was the first international stamp exhibition held in New Zealand since the successful NZ1990 World Stamp Exhibition.
Hosted by the Ellerslie Event Centre, Auckland, NZ2023 was held under the patronage of the Federation of InterAsian Philately.
Along with dealers and postal agencies, NZ Post was in attendance as the major sponsor and had staff and a sales booth with special souvenirs and postmarks available. There were four miniature sheets issued to commemorate the exhibition, with limited-edition versions available only at the exhibition and issued on each day.
Technical information
Date of issue: 4-7 May 2023
Designer: NZ Post, Wellington, New Zealand
Printer: Brebner Print, Napier, New Zealand
Withdrawal date: 3-6 May 2024
King Charles III Coronation
In a resplendent formal ceremony, on 6 May 2023 King Charles and Queen Camilla were crowned in Westminster Abbey, where all but two British monarchs have been crowned in the past 900 years.
Featuring seven images from the coronation, this special commemorative sheetlet was created in Wellington shortly after the ceremony.
Technical information
Date of issue: 8 May 2023
Designer: Hannah Fortune, NZ Post, Wellington, New Zealand
Printer: Brebner Print, Napier, New Zealand
Withdrawal date: 7 May 2024
2023 Scenic Definitives
The Great Walks are spread throughout the country. Taking between three and six days to complete, they’ll lead you through native forests, past pristine lakes and rivers, over majestic mountains and into lush valleys. The most northern walk is the Lake Waikaremoana Track on the east coast of the North Island. The Tongariro Northern Circuit is in the central North Island, and the Whanganui Journey is on the Whanganui River on the west of the North Island.
The South Island has the largest number of Great Walks, including the Abel Tasman Coast Track and the Heaphy Track in the Nelson/Tasman region, the Kepler, Milford, Routeburn and Rakiura Tracks in Fiordland, and the Paparoa Track on the West Coast of the South Island.
Technical information
Date of issue: 7 June 2023
Designer: NZ Post, Wellington, New Zealand
Printer: Brebner Print, Napier, New Zealand
Withdrawal date: None
Mid-century Toys
The mid-20th century was a golden era for New Zealand-made toys. A postWorld War Two baby boom, coupled with a blossoming economy and thriving local manufacturing industry, meant that the range of locally made toys was extensive. These stamps represent some of the best-known examples of the era.
Whatever the origin, material or history, one thing all toys have in common is their nostalgic appeal and the strong childhood memories that only this type of object can evoke.
Technical information
Date of issue: 5 July 2023
Designer: Helen Perkins, NZ Post, Wellington, New Zealand
Printer: Brebner Print, Napier, New Zealand
Withdrawal date: 4 July 2024
FIFA Women's World Cup 2023™
In 2023, the world’s top women’s football teams gathered to compete for the honour of winning the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023™.
Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand co-hosted this global football event, and millions of enthralled fans had their eyes fixed on the games on both sides of the Tasman Sea from 20 July to 20 August.
Including postage for medium and large letters to Australia, this commemorative miniature sheet features vibrant artwork created in collaboration with Māori and First Nations artists for the tournament. The patterns in the Official Look reflect the diversity of Australia’s and Aotearoa New Zealand’s cultures and landscapes, and the beautiful game of football.
Technical information
Date of issue: 5 July 2023
Designer: Chris Jones, Graphetti, Wellington, New Zealand
Printer: Brebner Print, Napier, New Zealand
Withdrawal date: 4 July 2024
2023 KiwiStamps
NZ Post rebranded in 2021. The new look united all NZ Post services and represented a successful and sustainable future with a smaller impact on Earth.
NZ Post’s delivery vehicles are instantly recognisable as they travel across the country delivering items people care about.
NZ Post is on a journey to help build a cleaner, greener future. We're well on the way to having 100 per cent of our road vehicle fleet and 25 per cent of Delivery Partners’ vans electrified by 2025. We’re committed to using sustainable and accountable processes both locally and globally to measure and limit our impact and achieve our goal of becoming totally carbon neutral by 2030.
Pets of Aotearoa New Zealand
Companion animals - pets - are essential parts of life for the majority of New Zealanders. Each year, Companion Animals New Zealand (CANZ) releases a report on the companion animal population. CANZ promotes the practice of responsible companion animal guardianship. According to the CANZ 2020 Report, there are more than 4.35 million companion animals in New Zealand - nearly equalling the population of humans.
To celebrate the special relationships between humans and their companion animals, NZ Post asked Kiwis to submit images of their pets for selection to feature in our Pets of Aotearoa New Zealand stamp issue. The finalists were Spencer the dog, Zita the cat, Kea the parrot (not a kea!) and Oh-good the sheep.
Technical information
Date of issue: N/A
Designer: NZ Post, Wellington, New Zealand
Printer: Brebner Print, Napier, New Zealand
Withdrawal date: None
Technical information
Date of issue: 2 August 2023
Designer: Hannah Fortune, NZ Post, Wellington, New Zealand
Printer: Brebner Print, Napier, New Zealand
Withdrawal date: 1 August 2024
1873 Newspaper Stamp
A rate of ½d was introduced for the delivery of newspapers in New Zealand on 1 January 1873. In conjunction with a reduction in price, a special newspaper stamp was issued for the payment of this fee.
The stamp was the first where the design and printing plate production and preparation and printing plates themselves were completed in New Zealand. It was designed by John Davies, the Government Printer, based on that of a contemporary English ½d stamp of Great Britain and with a side view of a young Queen Victoria’s head. Across the top are the words ‘New Zealand’ and down each side is the value, with ‘Newspaper Postage’ printed across the bottom. In August 2023 a special miniature sheet was issued to commemorate the 150th anniversary of this historic stamp.
Queen Elizabeth II 1926 - 2023
Queen Elizabeth II was the longestreigning British monarch. She reigned for over 70 years, from 6 February 1952 until her death during her Platinum Jubilee year at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, on 8 September 2022.
Following Queen Elizabeth’s death, she was interred on 19 September 2022 in the King George VI Memorial Chapel, part of St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, with the Duke of Edinburgh, who died on 9 April 2021, and her parents, King George VI (1895-1952) and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (1900-2002).
Queen Elizabeth visited New Zealand 10 times, and was the first British monarch to set foot here. This stamp issue features six portraits of the Queen taken while on tour in New Zealand or taking part in occasions acting in her capacity as Queen of New Zealand.
Technical information
Date of issue: 2 August 2023
Designer: Caitlin McArthur, NZ Post, Wellington, New Zealand
Printer: Brebner Print, Napier, New Zealand
Withdrawal date: 1 August 2024
Technical information
Date of issue: 6 September 2023
Designer: Nick Jarvie, NZ Post, Wellington, New Zealand
Printer: Brebner Print, Napier, New Zealand
Withdrawal date: 5 September 2024
Avatar: The Way of Water
Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, Avatar: The Way of Water begins to tell the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure. Shot in Aotearoa New Zealand, the film combines industry-leading technology with pristine locations to take audiences even deeper into the alien world of Pandora.
By combining breathtaking real-world landscapes with boundary-pushing technologies, the Avatar filmmakers created spectacular new worlds and populated them with compelling characters and themes on a scale the likes of which audiences had yet to experience. Two coin sets were issued to commemorate this achievement of New Zealand film-making.
Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy
To commemorate the legacy of the beloved children’s book series, these coins have been issued in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy written and illustrated by Dame Lynley Dodd.
Hairy Maclary literally fell out of Lynley Dodd’s scrapbook. She recalled how, when looking for a new idea, a tiny sketch of a dog, drawn years earlier on a slip of notepaper, dropped out from between the pages.
The original sketch would evolve over time into the dog we have come to know, but the essential elements were all there. With just a few strokes of her pen Lynley’s extraordinary ability to convey character, expression and movement brought Hairy Maclary to life. A star was born.
Technical information
Date of issue: May 2023
Designer: Chris Jones, Graphetti, Wellington, New Zealand
Mint: Sunshine Mint USA
Worldwide limited mintage:
'Pandoran Fauna' set of two 1oz silver proof coins: 1,000 sets
'Neytiri and Jake' set of two 1oz silver proof coins: 1,000 sets
Technical information
Date of issue: May 2023
Designer: Hannah Fortune, NZ Post, Wellington, New Zealand
Mint: BH Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt GmbH
Worldwide limited mintage:
• 1oz silver proof coin: 750
• Brilliant uncirculated coin: 750
Ruaumoko: Guardian of the Volcanoes Ranginui (the sky father) and Papatūānuku (the earth mother), the primordial parents, held each other in a tight embrace and bore many sons. Tāne - the god of the forest - separated his parents, creating the world of light. Rangi and Papa were heartbroken when they parted.
The older brothers were infuriated by the endless rain and sadness, and decided to turn their mother away from her love. Rūaumoko was at his mother’s breast, so he was carried to the underworld.
Rūaumoko still moves under the earth, creating earthquakes and volcanoes.
Technical information
Date of issue: June 2023
Designer: David Hakaraia, Wellington, New Zealand
Mint: BH Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt GmbH Worldwide limited mintage:
• 1oz silver proof coin: 600 1oz gold proof coin: 99
Queen Elizabeth II 1926 - 2022
The Queen was born on 21 April 1926 in London, the elder of two daughters of the then Duke and Duchess of York. On 10 July 1947 the Princess became engaged to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, RN, who became Duke of Edinburgh on their marriage on 20 November 1947. The royal couple departed England in January 1952 for a tour of several Commonwealth countries including New Zealand. While in Kenya Princess Elizabeth’s beloved father King George VI died, and she succeeded to the throne as Queen Elizabeth II.
The Queen was universally recognised and admired. She was the most photographed woman in the world and her image appeared on postage stamps, coinage and banknotes issued by New Zealand and in her other realms and territories. She was succeeded by her heir Charles III on 8 September 2022.
Technical information
Date of issue: September 2023
Designer: Fuller Design, Wellington, New Zealand
Mint: Royal Dutch Mint
Worldwide limited mintage:
• 1oz silver proof coin: 1,000
• ¼oz gold proof coin: 350
• 1oz gold proof coin: 70
