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The gold Kiwi Treasures collector's coin. - Source: Supplied
The kowhai will be returning to New Zealand coins for the first time since the two cent coin it featured on was withdrawn from circulation in 1990.
The yellow flower is on New Zealand Post's new series of coins for collectors alongside New Zealand's national bird, the kiwi.
Sales and marketing manager of New Zealand Posts coins Simon Allison says the new edition will be worth a lot more than just two cents, though.
"The 2-cent coin was, by the end, a bit of a hassle - with a bulging handful being barely enough to buy a sandwich," he said.
"By contrast these new Kiwi Treasures kowhai coins are truly stunning limited-edition collectors pieces - to be kept and passed on to future generations, or to be proudly put on display."
Three variations of the coin have been released - two are 1 oz pure silver coins which are 40mm across with a face value of $1, and the third is ý oz pure gold measuring 26mm across, with $10 face value.
The coins range from $79 to $895, with a limited number available.
Allison expects the new range to have a warm reception following the popularity of earlier editions.
"The earlier icons series featured a kiwi alongside a map of New Zealand (2009), the Southern Cross (2010) and the silver fern (2011)," Allison said.
"Those coins made their way to collections all around the world - with the 'map' coin selling out completely and only small quantities of the others available on our website."
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