5 Dollars - Elizabeth II 4th Portrait - Hector's Dolphin, Silver Proof

New Zealand's Hector's dolphin (*Cephalorhynchus hectori*) is the world's smallest marine dolphin and one of the rarest, found exclusively in the coastal waters of New Zealand's South Island. By 2002, the total population had been estimated at fewer than 7,000 individuals, already sharply reduced by gill-net entanglement. The coin's release coincided with ongoing government debate over whether to extend protected marine mammal sanctuaries — a political argument that would not produce meaningful legislative action for several more years.