1965 New Zealand Threepence Mule With Hong Kong/Mayala and British Borneo Obverse
A small number of mules are known from the Royal Mint in the 1960s - one such mule is the combination of a New Zealand threepence reverse die dated 1965 with a Hong Kong 5c piece obverse. The mule has been reported as a mule using the Malaya and British Borneo 5c piece obverse but research by Pepping suggests that a Hong Kong obverse is more likely - the Malaya and British Borneo 5c piece was last struck in 1961, four years before the mule was struck, and although the Hong Kong and Malaya and British Borneo 5c obverses are extremely similar, the mule has a denticle orientation that matches the Hong Kong 5c obverse (p109, Pepping, New Zealand History Coined, 2017).
Like many of these mules, it is unknown where the mule was found. If it was found in circulation then New Zealand is more likely, given the passing similarity of the obverses. Currently only one piece is known, and it was last sold as lot 136 in Noble auction 96 in April 2011.