Gold Half Ounce 2021 Tangaroa - Guardian of the Ocean, Coin from New Zealand - detailed information

New Zealand uses the New Zealand Dollar as its circulation currency for daily transactions. The country also issues a number of commemorative and collector coins, including in the internationally popular gold half-ounce format (abbreviated as 1/2 oz Au, where "Au" comes from the Latin word for gold, Aurum). Authorised by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, the official issuer of these coins is NZ Post - which also issues the country's postal stamps. Manufacturing of the coins is commissioned to various foreign mints.

The coins are "Non-Circulating Legal Tender" (NCLT) and not bullion because they are issued at prices much higher than their intrinsic value and are targeted at collectors who appreciate them for their artistic or sentimental value, and not at bullion investors.

This coin is one of two designs illustrating the legend of Tangaroa.

Tangaroa is a deity described in Māori traditions as the kaitiaki (guardian) of all oceans and waters. He is one of the children of Ranginui (the sky father) and Papatūānuku (the earth mother), from whom life originates. Among various accounts throughout Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific, Tangaroa is identified as the father of sea creatures. In some traditions, the sea is thought to be where all life originated. In traditional carvings, Māori ancestors can resemble amphibians - animals that can live on both land and water - with snake-like bodies and large heads.