Spirit of the Forest

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has released the final coin in its Taniwha series. According to Māori mythology, Taniwha are powerful supernatural entities that can have positive and negative impacts on people and the environment. Previous releases depicted the Cave Taniwha in 2024 and the Water Taniwha in 2025. The 2026 issue features the Forest Taniwha.

Available in both gold (mintage 75) and colored silver proof (750), the coin depicts a fearsome forest taniwha on the reverse. The inscription TANIWHA, as well as the denomination, appears on the upper right rim. The obverse features Stephen Fuller’s effigy of King Charles III. The Taniwha series coins are currently unavailable.