The New Zealand Honey bee coin gets a sequel featuring the incredible Manuka Honey

The buzz is back with the New Zealand Post finally releasing a sequel to the pretty cool hexagonal Honey Bee coin from 2016. A popular coin that sold out its 1,500 mintage very quickly, we were surprised there was no 2017 coin, but it’s back regardless. More of a visual variation on the first coin, the second one has the sought after Manuka honey as its subject – so sought after it sells six times as much worldwide as is actually produced and counterfeiting is rife.

This coin, like the first, is hexagonal in shape and struck in an ounce of fine 0.999 silver. Designed to mimic the bees honeycomb structure, the pronounced rim adds greatly to the effect of a cell. A new artist has designed this one. Jonathan Gray of the New Zealand Post has done the honours and a fine job at that. Depicting a pollen-laden bee on a Manuka flower picked out in colour on one side, it’s complimented by a resin dripping of honey on the other. The title and denomination are inscribed here.

The obverse is, as usual, the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank Broadley, along with issuer (New Zealand), date and head of state inscriptions. Packaging apes the first coin – a very clever cell-shaped clear-coloured box that suits the coin perfectly and holds a certificate of authenticity. The mintage has risen from 1,500 to 2,018 pieces but the price has remained at $149.00 NZD. Struck by the excellent BH Mayer in Germany, this looks to be a fine addition to the first coin and we hope there’s another one next year. Available from the NZ Post website, or from sponsors like Minted-UK and Powercoin.