1916 Courage & Commitment Silver Proof Coin - Silver Coin

Intro

As part of the First World War five year programme, New Zealand Post will issue legal tender commemorative coins. These highly collectable and intricately designed silver proof and gold proof coins highlight New Zealanders roles in the war in 1916.

Issue Information

By 1916 the scale of the Great War had been truly realised. Few New Zealanders had been left unscathed by the Gallipoli campaign, with fathers, brothers, friends and neighbours lost. At home, volunteers for service had slowed to a trickle and the first Anzac Day was observed a year after the Gallipoli landings. As the battle moved to the Western Front, where it would remain until 1918, the courage and commitment of the servicemen were sorely tested.

These unique and intricately designed coins will be highly sought after for years to come.

Product

Highlights

Minted from 0.999 silver. Limited worldwide mintage of 2,500. Coin comes in a pressed metal tin, made to resemble those gifted to soldiers in World War I by HRH Princess Mary at Christmas. Coin depicts the Battle of the Somme, New Zealand's costliest campaign of the First World War. The foreground of the coin shows elements of life in the trenches, while the background features soldiers in action. Collectable coin commemorating New Zealand's involvement in the First World War in 1916.

Design

In April 1916 the New Zealand Division arrived on the Western Front to what was a very different theatre of war from Gallipoli. By the time the New Zealand infantry withdrew on 4 October, and the New Zealand artillery followed on 25 October, the New Zealand Division had captured nine kilometres of trenches and 1,000 Germans, and earned praise for their bravery. However, the cost for New Zealand was high, with approximately 6,000 wounded and 2,000 killed, in New Zealand’s most devastating battle of the war.

The background of the coin depicts men in action at the Somme while the foreground shows the day to day realities of life in the trenches.