Silver Ounce 2018 Manuka Honey, Coin from New Zealand - detailed information

This coin was issued in New Zealand.

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Long before the arrival of European settlers and honey, the healing properties of mānuka (Leptospermum scoparium) were well known to the Māori people. The sturdy shrub usually grows up to around five metres in height but is able to stretch out into a small tree of around 15 metres if given the chance.
2018 Manuka Honey Silver Proof Coin

The dark, jelly-like, strong-flavoured mānuka honey was not popular for consumption among early settlers in New Zealand. However, studies and research in the 1980s proved the benefits of consuming mānuka honey and using it on irritated skin and wounds. Now mānuka honey, with its renowned medicinal properties, is in high demand all over the world.

Rather than avoiding the common mānuka shrubs and trees, beekeepers are now placing their hives in areas that are densely populated with the fragrant, native plant. Although there is no way to encourage bees to go specifically to mānuka flowers, placing the hives nearby does mean that there is likely to be a higher concentration of mānuka in the final honey product.

The Mānuka Honey coin follows the success of our 2016 Honey Bee coin. The hexagonal shape has been used again as it represents honey bees and the honeycombs they use for storage. Coloured resin is used to depict the rich, golden colour of mānuka honey, and can be seen dripping from a wooden dipper. A digitally printed honey bee is perched on a whitish-pink mānuka flower. Other engraving techniques give further depth to this beautiful coin.
Denomination: One New Zealand dollar
Finish: Proof with selective colour and resin
Composition: 0.999 silver
Weight: 1 troy oz
Diameter: 46mm x 40mm
Edge treatment: Milled
Shape: Hexagonal
Obverse design: Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley, United Kingdom
Reverse design: Honey bee (Apis mellifera) on a mānuka (Leptospermum scoparium) flower
Designed by: Jonathan Gray, New Zealand Post, Wellington, New Zealand
Worldwide mintage limit: 2,018
Mint: BH Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt GmbH2018 Manuka Honey Silver Proof Coin. Manuka Honey. 2016 Honey Bee coin. The hexagonal shape has been used again as it represents honey bees and the honeycombs they use for storage. Coloured resin is used to depict the rich, golden colour of mānuka honey, and can be seen dripping from a wooden dipper.