1 Dollar - Elizabeth II 4th Portrait - Elizabeth II, 60th Anniversary of reign

New Zealand's 2012 commemorative program for Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee — marking sixty years on the throne following her accession in February 1952 — coincided with celebrations held across the Commonwealth, though New Zealand's mint program distinguished itself through the pad-printing technique applied to the coin's surface. Pad printing, borrowed from the plastics and ceramics industry, deposits ink onto the struck planchet in precise registration rather than through traditional enameling or color-fill methods, making it a relatively recent development in numismatic finishing. The technique became increasingly common on New Zealand issues from this period.