The New Zealand two-dollar coin is the largest-denomination coin of the

New Zealand dollar The New Zealand dollar ( mi, tāra o Aotearoa; sign: $, NZ$; code: NZD) is the official currency and legal tender of New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, the Ross Dependency, Tokelau, and a British territory, the Pitcairn Islands. Within New ...

. It was introduced along with the one-dollar coin in 1990. Both are made from an alloy of

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

and

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

. It is the largest and heaviest coin in circulation, weighing ten

gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a Physical unit, unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure wate ...

s and measuring 26.5

millimetres 330px, Different lengths as in respect to the electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the metre and its derived scales. The microwave is between 1 meter to 1 millimeter. The millimetre (American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, ...

in diameter. Its thickness is 2.7 mm, only 0.4 mm thinner than the one-dollar coin, thus it is the second-thickest coin in the country's circulation. Both the $1 and $2 coins are gold-coloured, and requests for a Koha, donation or entry fee sometimes say ''gold coin please.''

History

A two dollar banknote was used in New Zealand from the start of the dollar in 1967 until 1991 when the coins became widely circulated. The original ideas to produce one- and two-dollar coins were proposed in 1986 because of ongoing

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...

which had lowered the value of the dollar and would cause the demonetisation of the one and two cent coins in 1988. From its first year until 1998 the coin featured on its obverse the portrait of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

by the British-Palestinian sculptor

Raphael Maklouf Raphael David Maklouf (born 10 December 1937) is a British sculpture, sculptor, best known for designing an effigy of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, Queen Elizabeth II used on the coins of many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations ...

. It had the text ''ELIZABETH II'' on the left of the portrait, ''NEW ZEALAND'' on the right and the date at the bottom. The effigy was replaced in 1999 by a portrait by

Ian Rank-Broadley Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS (born 1952) is a British sculptor who has produced many acclaimed works, among which are several designs for British coinage and the memorial statue of Princess Diana at Kensington Palace in London unveiled on her 60th ...

, which had been introduced to the

coins of the pound sterling The standard circulating coinage of the United Kingdom, British Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories is denominated in pennies and pounds sterling ( symbol "£", commercial GBP), and ranges in value from one penny sterling ...

in 1998. It reversed the position of the writing, moving the Queen's name to the right and the country's name to the left. The reverse features an

eastern great egret The eastern great egret (''Ardea alba modesta''), a white heron in the genus '' Ardea'', is usually considered a subspecies of the great egret (''A. alba''). In New Zealand it is known as the white heron or by its Māori name ''kōtuku''. The sub ...

(''Ardea alba modesta'') ( Maori: '' kotuku''). It is sacred to New Zealand's

Māori people The Māori (, ) are the indigenous Polynesian people of mainland New Zealand (). Māori originated with settlers from East Polynesia, who arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe voyages between roughly 1320 and 1350. Over several ce ...

, and highly endangered within the country, only inhabiting the Okarito Lagoon on the South Island. This continues the theme of birds among the dollar coins; the one-dollar coin has a

kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), a nickname for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible berry * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of currency Kiwi or KIWI may also ref ...

, unique to New Zealand, on its reverse. The edge is fully milled, unique amongst New Zealand's current currency. The 1997 NZ $2 coin was recalled quickly and destroyed due to an error that resulted in vending machines and parking meters rejecting them. This was due to the metal composition of the coin being slightly different to previous years, meaning that the conductivity of the 1997 coin was irregular. As most coin mechanisms use conductivity to verify a coin, this discrepancy resulted in widespread rejection of the coin.

Minting figures

Total value: $226,500,000.

Future

After the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, the Reserve Bank said it would exhaust its existing coin stocks before introducing new coins featuring

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

. Based on current stock levels, this would likely be several years away.

References

External links

Coins from New Zealand / Coin Type: Two Dollars – Online Coin Club
{{New Zealand currency and coinage 1990 establishments in New Zealand D2 Currencies introduced in 1991 Two-base-unit coins