A couple more coins for the stack from a previous order, two animal themed 1oz silver rounds from the New Zealand Mint. The coins feature a Hawksbill turtle, and a Paper-Cut Tiger.
New Zealand Mint
Operating for over 50 years, the New Zealand mint is one of the world leaders for commemorative silver and gold coins. They have licensed designs from pop culture companies like Disney, Lucasfilms, Star Trek, DC Comics, Harry Potter, Looney Toons, Dr. Who, Sherlock Holmes, and Magic: The Gathering (Source).
New Zealand Mint coins often have the text "NIUE" on the top of the reverse side, Niue is an island of New Zealand. Like other Commonwealth mints you will find Queen Elizabeth II on the backside, soon it will be Charles.
Turtle 1oz Silver
The 2022 Turtle 1oz .999 pure silver round from the New Zealand mint features the Hawksbill turtle, known to the locals as Taku. The Hawksbill turtle is one of the two turtle species native to Fiji island in the South Pacific. They grow up to a meter in length, with an average weight of 80kg (Source).
The turtle side of the coin has the Taku turtle front and center, swimming in the water, in the -right direction. Along the left curve of the coin is the text "TURTLE", along the bottom-right curve is the text "FINE SILVER .999 1 OZ".
Tiger 1oz Silver
The 2022 Tiger 1oz .999 pure silver round, from the New Zealand Mint, features a Paper-Cut Tiger - celebrating the Chinese 2022 year of the tiger. "It is said that people born in the Year or the Tiger are determined, brave, and well-liked" (Source).
The Tiger side of the coin has the Paper-Cut Tiger walking among jungle flowers to the top of the coin, looking back at you over the left shoulder. To the left of the Tiger is the Chinese character for "tiger". The coin has an intricate Chinese style border, along the bottom-right corner curve of the coin is the text "1 OZ .999 PURE SILVER".
Queen Side
The back side of these New Zealand minted coins are exactly the same. Queen Elizabeth II's head side profile is in the center of the coin, facing to the right. Along the curve of the coin has the text "ELIZABETH II NIUE TWO DOLLARS", at the bottom of the coin is "2022". IRB are the initials of the artist.
With Queen Elizabeth II's passing, Charles is up next for the backside of the new coins - I'd prefer Lizzy or neither, but silver is silver, and gold is gold, I'll pick up whichever is cheaper.
