1 Dollar - Elizabeth II 4th portrait - Maui and the fish

Part of New Zealand's ongoing series celebrating Māori mythology, this issue draws on the legend of Māui fishing up the North Island — known in Māori as Te Ika-a-Māui, literally "the fish of Māui." The story holds that Māui used his grandmother's jawbone as a fishhook and hauled the landmass from the ocean floor while his brothers paddled the canoe, the South Island, above.

The Reserve Bank has issued collector-focused silver dollars in this format since the 1990s, with Māori cultural themes appearing with increasing frequency after Treaty settlement discussions brought indigenous heritage to greater institutional prominence in the 2000s.