Amazing Animals on New Zealand Coins !

Giants of New Zealand

Hi ! I recently wrote about the new wonderful Giant Stamps issued by New Zealand depicting giant animals. Now I have just come across the wonderful coins which are so beautiful and amazing and are sure to be every one's delight. These were released as a special collection in March 2009, the coins celebrate a fascinating aspect of New Zealand’s natural heritage – five gargantuan animals unique to a landscape formed more than 80 million years ago. The collection of these coins is the best way to know about these ‘giants’ of natural heritage of the world. Crafted to specimen quality from pure .999 silver bullion, they depict the giant eagle, giant moa, colossal squid, southern right whale and giant weta in meticulous detail. In the background, a koru (spiral) represents the unfurling frond of a New Zealand native fern – a traditional Maori design that symbolises new life and purity.These were issued on 4 March alongwith the issuance of Giant stamps. One more coin issued by New Zealand this year depicts Kiwi - the icon of New Zealand. I just showed thses beautiful coins as many philatelists are fond of coin collection too. This will add a new gem in their collection. Just fascinating and fantastic ! This is all for today !......Till Next Post......Have a Wonderful Time !





The new Icons of New Zealand coin series will run over 3 years and will celebrate the uniqueness of this country. A new design will be issued each year depicting a kiwi with another icon of New Zealand’s beautiful natural environment.

Kiwi
The design of the pure gold and silver coins in 2009 reflects the strong connection the internationally recognised kiwi has with the land and with New Zealand. The position of the stylised map on the coin represents New Zealand’s location in the Southern Hemisphere.Unique to New Zealand and once numbered in the millions, sadly all five species of kiwi are now listed as endangered and are rarely seen in their natural habitat. The rarest kiwi species is the rowi and, with only a few hundred left, it is now only found in the wild in a very small region of the South Island. The survival of the kiwi for future generations is dependant on the success of breeding and protection programmes set up by sanctuaries across New Zealand.

Courtesy - New Zealand Post