New Coins

New Zealand got a new coinage yesterday. The 5c coin was phased out and the 10c and 20c coins are being made smaller. The existing coinage was introduced in 1967, when we introduced decimal currency.

The reason that we need new coins is inflation. According to the Reserve Bank inflation calculator, if you had 10 cents in 1967, you would need a $1.45 to have the same purchasing power now. That might not sound too bad. If you had a $1000 then, you would need $14,500 now to have the equivalent money. That does not sound so nice.

Those who have relied on money provided by the state have been robbed, quite substanially. The smaller coins should be a reminder that we have been seriously robbed by our currency.

Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it." (Hag 1:5,6)