50 Cents - Elizabeth II 4th Portrait, Legolas

Issued as part of New Zealand's licensed tie-in with the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, this circulation coin entered production while Peter Jackson's second installment, The Two Towers, was still in theaters. New Zealand Post coordinated the release through the Reserve Bank, an arrangement that turned ordinary change into licensed merchandise — an unusual position for a circulating denomination to occupy.

The series was struck in standard copper-nickel for general circulation, meaning examples did pass through tills and change dishes across New Zealand in 2003, though collector hoarding kept most from accumulating meaningful wear.