Gold Quarter Ounce 2008 Sir Edmund Hillary, Coin from New Zealand - detailed information

This coin was issued in New Zealand.

We have no further information yet but will soon expand this page.

Sir Edmund Hillary 1919-2008 1/4oz Gold Proof Coin | The Perth Mint

The Mint says about this coin:

Proof Quality 1/4oz 99.99% Pure Gold Reverse Portrait of Sir Edmund Hillary Supported by Lady June Hillary New Zealand Legal Tender Extremely Limited Mintage Presentation Packaging Numbered Certificate of Authenticity JUST 1,953 GOLD COINS TO BE ISSUED

This coin celebrates the life of Sir Edmund Hillary K.G., O.N.Z., K.B.E., the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest and arguably New Zealand’s most famous son. Proof Quality 99.99% Pure Gold The coin is struck by The Perth Mint from 1/4oz of 99.99% pure gold in proof quality. Reverse Portrait of Sir Edmund Hillary The coin’s reverse depicts a portrait of Sir Edmund Hillary and his signature. The design includes a silver fern, a symbol of New Zealand, and an image of Mount Everest. The reverse also includes the inscriptions SIR EDMUND HILLARY 1919-2008 and A LIFETIME OF ACHIEVEMENT. A Lifetime of Achievement Born in Auckland on 20 July 1919, Hillary discovered his love of climbing on a school trip to Mount Ruapehu. After serving with the Royal New Zealand Air Force during World War II, he conquered Mount Cook, New Zealand’s highest peak, before travelling to Europe and mountaineering in the Swiss and Austrian Alps. The chance to take on the ultimate challenge arrived when he joined Sir John Hunt's British Everest Expedition. All previous attempts to ascend Everest’s 29,035 feet had failed, leaving the group apprehensive, unsure, in fact, if it was humanly possible to reach the top. Hillary, accompanied by Sherpa Tenzing, astonished the world by successfully scaling the world’s highest mountain on 29 May 1953. Although claiming “we got there together”, Hillary revealed in 1986 that he was actually the first by a matter of some feet. Further adventures and achievements in the Antarctic and the Himalayas followed. Shunning the celebrity thrust upon him, however, the instinctively modest Hillary was more concerned about the plight of the Sherpa people of Nepal, where he raised funds for school, hospital and infrastructure projects on their behalf. In 1985, Hillary was appointed New Zealand High Commissioner to India. While on official duties in India, he became a member of the Order of New Zealand, and in 1992 his portrait appeared on the five dollar note, making him the first living New Zealander to be honoured in this way. In 1995, he was appointed Knight of the Garter, the most senior and oldest British Order of Chivalry. In 2003 he was made an honorary Nepalese citizen. Summing up the thoughts of a nation at Sir Edmund Hillary’s State Funeral Service in 2008, Prime Minister Helen Clarke said: “Sir Ed described himself as a person of modest abilities. In reality he was a colossus. He was our hero. He brought fame to our country. We admired his achievements and the great international respect in which he was held. But above all, we loved Sir Ed for what he represented – a determination to succeed against the odds, humility, an innate sense of fair play, and a tremendous sense of service to the community, at home and abroad.” Supported by Lady June Hillary The coin is supported by Lady June Hillary, the widow of Sir Edmund. New Zealand Legal Tender Issued as legal tender of New Zealand, the coin portrays the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse. Extremely Limited Mintage New Zealand Post will issue no more than 1,953 of these gold proof coins. Presentation Packaging Each coin is housed in a presentation display case featuring the words ‘Sir Edmund Hillary 1919-2008’ in gold lettering. The case comes in a beautifully illustrated box-shipper. Numbered Certificate of Authenticity Each coin is accompanied by a Numbered Certificate of Authenticity.

Gold Content (Troy oz): 1/4
Monetary Denomination (NZD): 10
Fineness (% purity): 99.99
Minimum Gross Weight (g): 7.777
Maximum Diameter (mm): 20.60
Maximum Thickness (mm): 2.00
Perth Mint Item ID: 08L74AAA
Issue price: AU$ 545.0, US$ 393.1