New Zealand 1984 7 Coin Proof Set, Sterling Silver Dollar. Only 15000 set minted

1. One Dollar ($1.00) Sterling Silver (.925) Coin with "Queen Elizabeth II" on the obverse and the"CHATHAM ISLAND BLACK ROBIN" on the reverse. This is the Ninth Sterling Silver Dollar Coin Released since the inception of the decimal coin system. Minted at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, Wales. The Arnold Machin design of Queen Elizabeth was once again reinstated on the Obverse of the Sterling Silver Dollar coin. The Four Years (1979 to 1982) of the effigy design for Queen Elizabeth II by James Berry on the silver dollar was forever retired.

Composition: .925 Silver. Silver Contents: .8095 oz.

2. 50 Cent ($0.50) Cupro-nickel Coin with "Queen Elizabeth II" on the face and the "Endeavour" on the reverse.

Obverse: Queen Elizabeth II - Design by Arnold Machin. Legend: ELIZABETH II NEW ZEALAND - 1984.

Reverse: H.M.B. Endeavour - Design by James Berry. Edge: Reeded - interrupted milling - 5 6.35mm plain segments. Weight: 13.61 grams. Size: 31.75mm (diameter) Composition: 75% Copper, 25% Nickel. Mintage: Proof: 15,000. Mintmarks: None.

3. 20 Cent ($0.20) Cupro-nickel Coin with "Queen Elizabeth II" on the face and a "Kiwi" bird on the reverse.

Obverse: Queen Elizabeth II - Design by Arnold Machin. Legend: ELIZABETH II NEW ZEALAND - 1984.

Reverse: Kiwi - Design by James Berry. Edge: Reeded - continuous mill. Weight: 11.31 grams (174.6 grains). Size: 28.58 mm (diameter). Composition: 75% Copper, 25% Nickel. Mintage: Proof: 15,000. Mintmarks: None.

4. 10 Cent ($0.10) Cupro-nickel Coin with "Queen Elizabeth II" on the face and a "Maori carving" face on the reverse.

Obverse: Queen Elizabeth II - Design by Arnold Machin. Legend: ELIZABETH II NEW ZEALAND - 1984.

Reverse: Maori Mask - Design by James Berry. Edge: Reeded - continuous mill. Weight: 5.66 grams (87.4 grains). Size: 23.62 mm (diameter). Composition: 75% Copper, 25% Nickel. Mintage: Proof: 15,000. Mintmarks: None.

5. 5 Cent ($0.05) Cupro-nickel Coin with with "Queen Elizabeth II" on the face and the "Tuatara" lizard on the reverse.

Obverse: Queen Elizabeth II - Design by Arnold Machin. Legend: ELIZABETH II NEW ZEALAND - 1984.

Reverse: Tuatara - Design by James Berry. Edge: Reeded - continuous mill. Weight: 2.83 grams (43.7 grains). Size: 19.43 mm (diameter). Composition: 75% Copper, 25% Nickel. Mintage: Proof: 15,000. Mintmarks: None.

Obverse: Queen Elizabeth II - Design by Arnold Machin. Legend: ELIZABETH II NEW ZEALAND - 1984.

Reverse: Kowhai Leaves - Design by James Berry. Edge: Plain Edge. Weight: 5.18 grams (80.0 grains). Size: 21.08 mm (diameter). Composition: Bronze - 97% Copper, 2.5% Zinc, 0.5% Nickel. Mintage: Proof: 15,000. Mintmarks: None.

Obverse: Queen Elizabeth II - Design by Arnold Machin. Legend: ELIZABETH II NEW ZEALAND - 1984.

Reverse: Small Fern Leaf - Design by James Berry. Edge: Plain Edge. Weight: 2.59 grams (40.0 grains). Size: 17.53 mm (diameter). Composition: Bronze - 97% Copper, 2.5% Zinc, 0.5% Nickel. Mintage: Proof: 15,000. Mintmarks: None.

New Zealand was separated from the rest of the world over 100 million years ago. The Tuatara "lizard" has survived all that time. It is not really a lizard. Tuataras survived because no predators invaded New Zealand. Terrestrial mammals failed to cross the Tasman Ocean, which separated New Zealand from Australia by opening about 90 million years ago. Tuataras are unusual reptiles, since they like cool weather. They do not survive well over 25 degrees centigrade but can live below 5 degrees, by hibernating in burrows. New Zealand climate was just right.

The Kiwi, a flightless bird, is a symbol of New Zealand. However, Tuatara is an even more primitive and distinctive animal than Kiwi.

The Black Robin or Chatham Island Robin (Petroica traversi) is an endangered bird from the Chatham Islands off the east coast of New Zealand. It is closely related to the New Zealand Robin (P. australis). It was first described by Walter Buller in 1872. Unlike its mainland counterparts, its flight capacity is somewhat reduced. Evolution in the absence of mammalian predators made it vulnerable to introduced species such as cats and rats, and it became extinct on the main island of the Chatham group before 1871, being restricted to Little Mangere Island thereafter. The Black Robin is a small, sparrow-sized bird measuring 14–15 cm (5.5–6 in). Its plumage is almost entirely brownish-black, with a black bill and brownish-black yellow-soled feet. Females are usually slightly smaller than males. Male songs are a simple phrase of 5 to 7 notes. Its call is a high pitched single note. Their eyes are dark brown. The birds will moult between December and March.

The kowhai is considered by many to be New Zealand's national flower. These flowers hang from the tree as flowering pds (seeds).

One of the most simple and ubiquitous of Maori symbols, the koru is the representation of new life. The shape is similar to that of a young, unfurled fern, a plant which is very common in New Zealand. A koru shaped carving symbolizes new life or beginnings, growth, peace and/or harmony. This shape is often seen in other Maori designs, such as moko (tattoos).

Cyathea dealbata, or the silver tree fern or silver fern (kaponga or ponga in the Māori language), is a species of medium-sized tree fern, endemic to New Zealand. It is a symbol commonly associated with the country both overseas and by New Zealanders themselves.

This fern is known to grow to heights of 10 m or more (though it occasionally takes a rare creeping form). The crown is dense, and the fronds tend to be about 4 m long and have a silver-white colouration on the undersides. This distinctive silver colouration has made them useful for laying along tracks for night walking. The scales are a dark brown and are often twisted and glossy.

Endeavour

HMS Endeavour, also known as HM Bark Endeavour, was a British Royal Navy research vessel commanded by Lieutenant James Cook on his first voyage of discovery, to Australia and New Zealand from 1769 to 1771.

Launched in 1764 as the collier Earl of Pembroke, she was purchased by the Navy in 1768 for a scientific mission to the Pacific Ocean, and to explore the seas for the surmised Terra Australis Incognita or "unknown southern land". Renamed and commissioned as His Majesty's Bark the Endeavour, she departed Plymouth in August 1768, rounded Cape Horn, and reached Tahiti in time to observe the 1769 transit of Venus across the Sun. She then set sail into the largely uncharted ocean to the south, stopping at the Pacific islands of Huahine, Borabora, and Raiatea to allow Cook to claim them for Great Britain. In September 1769, she anchored off New Zealand, the first European vessel to reach the islands since Abel Tasman's Heemskerck 127 years earlier. In April 1770, Endeavour became the first seagoing vessel to reach the east coast of Australia, when Cook went ashore at what is now known as Botany Bay.