Niue Islands Great Migration series from the NZ Mint wraps up with the Humpback Whale.

The NZM has jumped into the market heavily with lots of five or six coin series that complete in rapid succession, often within the space of a year. Examples include Forgotten Cities, Journeys of Discovery, and the superb Warriors of History. Great cities has just begun.One of our favourite series from the New Zealand Mint (NZM) to launch in 2016 was an intriguing one called Great Migrations. Pretty standard fare in terms of specification, the choice of subject and the implementation of it are very well undertaken.

Great migrations has now come to an end and this one is the final debut. Each of the five coins has depicted an animal that undertakes an epic seasonal migration. First appearing last May with the Zebra, subsequent coins featured such varied subjects as the Monarch Butterfly, the Arctic Tern, and the Caribou. We’re finishing up with a dive into the oceans and a look at the incredible Humpback Whale.

Humpback whales undertake a mammoth migration every year between their main feeding and breeding waters. During the summer the whales spend time at the poles feeding. As winter comes on the whales head towards the equator, their breeding and calving grounds. They migrate an epic 5000 km in general, averaging under 2 km/hour. Humpbacks are found almost everywhere in the world’s oceans.

The design follows the others closely, as you’d expect. A mass depiction of the animal, clean-struck, but with selected individuals picked out in colour, works well and is a fine use of selective colouring. The obverse is filled with just the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II surrounded by the usual coin inscriptions, the reverse face having just the composition in a very small font. Packaging is one of our favourites, being neat, well put together and easy to store. Available from today for $80, with mintage limited to 3,000. We’ll be sad to see the end of this fine series.