| Coin | Silver Half Ounce 2022 Baskets of Knowledge |
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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 half ounce of silver format (abbreviated as 1/2 oz Ag, where "Ag" comes from the Latin word for silver, Argentum). 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 the two silver coins included in the annual New Zealand Proof Currency Set for 2022. Designed by David Hakaraia, the designer of the NZ Post Māui coin series, they portray the story of Tāne Mahuta, the god of forests and birds, who brought the baskets of knowledge to Earth. This second coin depicts poutama (the stairway to attainment of knowledge), the messengers of Io (the supreme spiritual power) and the three baskets of knowledge. |
| Mint | B. H. Mayer |
Mint Mark | No mint mark |
Total Mintage |
750
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| Obverse | |
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The obverse of the coin shows the crowned mature head of Queen Elizabeth II facing right (her effigy known as the "Fourth Portrait"). The Queen wears the "Girls of Great Britain and Ireland" diamond tiara, a wedding gift from Queen Mary (Her Majesty's grandmother) in 1947 - which she also has on the Machin and the Gottwald portraits.
In small letters below the head, the artist's initials IRB (for Ian Rank-Broadley).
Around the effigy is the monarch's legend, the date of issue and the value: NEW ZEALAND .999 Ag .5oz ELIZABETH II 2022.
The inscription indicates the precious metal content - ".999 Ag .5oz" means "one half of a troy ounce of 99.9% silver"; Ag is abbreviated from Argentum, the Latin word for silver. |
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| Reverse | |
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The reverse of the coin represents poutama (the stairway to attainment of knowledge), the messengers of Io (the supreme spiritual power) and the three baskets of knowledge:
- Te kete Tuauri, which contains sacred knowledge of ritual, memory and prayer, and relates to the creation of the natural world.
- Te kete Tuatea. With ancestral knowledge of matters beyond space and time, te kete Tuatea carries our experience of connections with one another and with the past.
- Te kete Aronui. This basket contains the knowledge that could assist mankind: knowledge of love, peace and the arts and crafts. It is also regarded as the basket of literature, philosophy and humanities.
The figures are selectively gold plated.
Around above, the inscription KOTAHI TĀRA in Maori; around below, the same in English: ONE DOLLAR. |
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| Reverse Inscription |
KOTAHI TĀRA ONE DOLLAR |
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| Edge | Milled | Edge Inscription | None |
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| Notes | Finish: proof, selective gold plating. |
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