Silver Ounce 2016 1916 Courage and Commitment, 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 one ounce of silver format (abbreviated as 1 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 part of a five year programme by New Zealand Post, of legal tender commemorative coins commemorating the First World War, and illustrates New Zealand’s involvement in the Battle of the Somme.

In April 1916 the New Zealand Division arrived on the Western Front to what was a very different theatre of war from Gallipoli. By the time the New Zealand infantry withdrew on 4 October, and the New Zealand artillery followed on 25 October, the New Zealand Division had captured nine kilometres of trenches and 1,000 Germans, and earned praise for their bravery. However, the cost for New Zealand was high, with approximately 6,000 wounded and 2,000 killed, in New Zealand’s most devastating battle of the war.