New Zealand 20-CENTS (KM36)

Kiwi

There are five species of Kiwi, all native to New Zealand, and all endangered. A small, flightless bird about the size of a chicken, the kiwi is the national symbol of New Zealand. Since the only mammals native to New Zealand are bats, the ecological niches normally occupied by mammals were filled in by flightless birds, like the kiwi.

The Maori people use kiwi feathers for their ceremonial cloaks, but no longer hunt them and consider themselves their guardians. Feathers are only gathered from birds that die naturally or from accidents.

New Zealand switched to decimal coinage in 1967, and this is the first 20-cent coin issued. In 1986, the obverse was changed (KM62), and in 1991 the Kiwi jumped over to the new $1 coin.


Diameter
28.4 mm
Composition
Copper-Nickel
Catalogue #
KM36
Obverse Legend
ELIZABETH II NEW ZEALAND
Reverse Legend
20

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