Five Cents 1978, Coin from New Zealand - detailed information

Diademed and draped bust of Queen Elizabeth II facing right (effigy known as the "Second portrait", by Arnold Machin); around, the monarch's legend ELIZABETH II NEW ZEALAND; below, the date 1978.

The reverse design of the coin depicts the last surviving member of an otherwise extinct family of reptiles, the tuatara (a lizard-like reptile), native only to New Zealand, shown sitting on a coastal rock. Above in the background, a gull flying.

Below, the denomination 5 [cents].

The designer's initials, JB (for [Reginald George] James Berry) are to the left of the lizard's tail.

Reserve Bank of New Zealand reports regular mintage of 20,000,000. Krause catalogues list 20,023,000 circulation coins and 15,000 proofs. Judging by other years' patterns though, that's most probably 20,000,000 circulation coins, 23,000 in sets and 15,000 proofs.

Krause lists proofs as issued by the Perth Mint, but the mint sets themselves state that they were struck by the Royal Canadian Mint.