2018 1oz Silver Hexagonal Proof Coin $1 New Zealand Manuka Honey Bee

  

This is an extremely low mintage with a COA and a hi mint number of number 20. Long before the arrival of European settlers and honey, the healing properties of manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) were well known to the Maori 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 manuka honey was not popular for consumption among early settlers in New Zealand.

However, studies and research in the 1980s proved the benefits of consuming manuka honey and using it on irritated skin and wounds. Now manuka honey, with its renowned medicinal properties, is in high demand all over the world.

Rather than avoiding the common manuka 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 manuka flowers, placing the hives nearby does mean that there is likely to be a higher concentration of manuka in the final honey product. The Manuka 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 manuka honey, and can be seen dripping from a wooden dipper. A digitally printed honey bee is perched on a whitish-pink manuka flower. Other engraving techniques give further depth to this beautiful coin. Denomination: One New Zealand dollar. Finish: Proof with selective colour and resin. Obverse design: Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley, United Kingdom. Reverse design: Honey bee (Apis mellifera) on a manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) flower.

Designed by: Jonathan Gray, New Zealand Post, Wellington, New Zealand. Worldwide mintage limit: 2,018. Mint: BH Mayer's Kunstprägeanstalt GmbH.