Fifty Cents 2024 (proof only), Coin from New Zealand - detailed information

The obverse of the coin displays the bust of King Charles III, which depicts him bare-headed (uncrowned) and wearing a suit and tie, facing left.

Below the shoulder truncation in tiny letters, the artist's initials DT (for Dan Thorne).

Around the rim, the monarch's legend and the date of issue: CHARLES III NEW ZEALAND 2024.

The reverse features the barque Endeavour sailing south. HMS Endeavour was the ship on which Captain Cook became the first Briton to reach New Zealand in October 1769. Mount Taranaki (Egmont) is seen in the distance; above left, the denomination 50 [cents]; below, ENDEAVOUR.

The artist's initials JB (for [Reginald George] James Berry) are in tiny letters on the coastline to the right of ship.

These coins were part of a release for collectors only, which was the first in New Zealand to feature the Commonwealth portrait of King Charles III by Dan Thorne.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand had announced earlier that the first circulating coins bearing that portrait would probably be in the 10 cents denomination, to be struck in 2025 and released into actual circulation maybe in 2027.