Title:
2012 NZ Annual Commemorative
Description:
This 2012 New Zealand Annual Coin is a collectible of distinction for a number of reasons.
As well as being the only $5 proof coin issued the year, it marks the 10th anniversary of a series dedicated to highlighting the plight of New Zealand’s endangered native animals. It’s also the first coin to include the formal scientific name of the featured species, which this year is the New Zealand Fairy Tern - our rarest and most critically threatened bird.
Numbering only about 45 individuals, including 12 breeding pairs, the New Zealand fairy tern (Sterna nereis davisae) is known to Māori as ’tara-iti’. It’s captured in three-dimensional glory on the $5 coin, both as a bird in flight and in its natural nesting habitat: a shell-covered beach on the Northland peninsula.
The mother and chicks are depicted in an egg-shaped vignette to reinforce the importance of every egg to the species’ survíval, as it strives to overcome the everyday threats to its existence.
Fortunately the experts are now cautiously optimistic about the future for the New Zealand fairy tern. It’s a dramatic improvement on its prospects in 1983, when just three or four breeding pairs remained at Mangawhai and Papakanui Spit. The then - New Zealand Wildlife Service swung into action, establishing a protection programme that delivered a much-needed turnaround in numbers.
Today, the Department of Conservation remains committed to increasing the New Zealand fairy tern population and expanding its breeding range. With a goal of achieving a 25 per cent increase in numbers by 2015, it’s playing an invaluable role in ensuring the tern’s continued existence on the planet we share.
As well as being the only $5 proof coin issued the year, it marks the 10th anniversary of a series dedicated to highlighting the plight of New Zealand’s endangered native animals. It’s also the first coin to include the formal scientific name of the featured species, which this year is the New Zealand Fairy Tern - our rarest and most critically threatened bird.
Numbering only about 45 individuals, including 12 breeding pairs, the New Zealand fairy tern (Sterna nereis davisae) is known to Māori as ’tara-iti’. It’s captured in three-dimensional glory on the $5 coin, both as a bird in flight and in its natural nesting habitat: a shell-covered beach on the Northland peninsula.
The mother and chicks are depicted in an egg-shaped vignette to reinforce the importance of every egg to the species’ survíval, as it strives to overcome the everyday threats to its existence.
Fortunately the experts are now cautiously optimistic about the future for the New Zealand fairy tern. It’s a dramatic improvement on its prospects in 1983, when just three or four breeding pairs remained at Mangawhai and Papakanui Spit. The then - New Zealand Wildlife Service swung into action, establishing a protection programme that delivered a much-needed turnaround in numbers.
Today, the Department of Conservation remains committed to increasing the New Zealand fairy tern population and expanding its breeding range. With a goal of achieving a 25 per cent increase in numbers by 2015, it’s playing an invaluable role in ensuring the tern’s continued existence on the planet we share.
Country:
New Zealand
Year:
2012
Mintage:
0636/4,000
Material:
Silver
Denomination:
$5.00
Weight:
1 oz
Diameter:
38.70 mm
Edge:
reeded
Designers:
Ian Rank-Broadley
Royal Dutch Mint
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Date Added:
2018-06-08 16:55:05
Date Added:
2018-06-08 16:55:05
