5 Dollars - Elizabeth II 4th Portrait, Chatham Island Taiko, Silver Proof

The Chatham Island taiko — *Pterodroma magentae* — was considered extinct for nearly a century before a small breeding colony was rediscovered in the Chatham Islands in 1978. By 2004, the wild population numbered fewer than 150 birds, making it one of the rarest seabirds on earth. New Zealand's wildlife conservation coinage program has consistently targeted species at genuine crisis points rather than charismatic megafauna, and the taiko's inclusion here reflects that editorial discipline.

KM#133a distinguishes the silver proof from the standard cupro-nickel circulation issue struck the same year.