50 Cents - Charles III 1st Portrait - Cave Taniwha, Silver Antique

New Zealand's taniwha occupy a genuinely complicated place in Māori cosmology — neither straightforwardly malevolent nor benign, but deeply site-specific, bound to particular waterways, caves, and geological features where they were understood to dwell and, depending on the relationship, either protect or destroy. The cave association here draws on a well-documented subset of taniwha lore in which subterranean spaces function as thresholds rather than simple habitats.

Charles III's first portrait on New Zealand coinage, sculpted by Martin Jennings, was approved following the King's accession in September 2022.