Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 1 Dollar 1999-2023, KM# 120, New Zealand, Elizabeth II
  • 1 Dollar 1999-2023, KM# 120, New Zealand, Elizabeth II
Obverse

Fourth crowned portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II facing right, wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara.

The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara was a wedding present in 1947 from her grandmother, Queen Mary, who received it as a gift from the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland in 1893 on the occasion of her marriage to the Duke of York, later George V. Made by E. Wolfe & Co., it was purchased from Garrard & Co. by a committee organised by Lady Eve Greville. In 1914, Mary adapted the tiara to take 13 diamonds in place of the large oriental pearls surmounting the tiara. At first, Elizabeth wore the tiara without its base and pearls but the base was reattached in 1969. The Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara is one of Elizabeth's most recognisable pieces of jewellery due to its widespread use on British banknotes and coinage.

Engraver: Ian Rank-Broadley

NEW ZEALAND ELIZABETH II
IRB
2005

Reverse

Depicts a kiwi with four silver fern fronds. Denomination below.

Kiwi or kiwis are flightless birds native to New Zealand, in the genus Apteryx and family Apterygidae. Approximately the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are by far the smallest living ratites (which also consist of ostriches, emus, rheas, and cassowaries), and lay the largest egg in relation to their body size of any species of bird in the world.

The kiwi is a national symbol of New Zealand, and the association is so strong that the term Kiwi is used internationally as the colloquial demonym for New Zealanders.

Cyathea dealbata, also known as the silver tree-fern or silver fern 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.

Engraver: Robert Maurice Conly

ONE DOLLAR

Edge

1 Dollar

4th portrait
KM# 120 Schön# 117
Characteristics
Material Aluminium Bronze
Weight 8 g
Diameter 23 mm
Thickness 2.74 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal

Related coins

4th portrait, All Blacks

Silver, 31.1 g