More Silver From New Zealand and the Huia Bird

As I mentioned before I've always wanted to take a trip to New Zealand. I guess seeing all the movies made with the incredible scenery are a great motivator. Although I've never had the chance to travel there I have over the years picked up a couple of silver coins from the destination!

A couple weeks back I shared one of the two silver coins I own from there. Today I felt like it might be fun to share the other one. The last coin I shared had the kiwi bird, a really interesting and cute bird. This one also features a bird, the huia.

About the coin:

https://img.inleo.io/DQmSGbB9CxPsxTCgS6emB8UeznVLMCdY2HgdQBn2Tj86PQm/Screenshot%20(1014).png From numista.com

This particular coin is no spring chicken at 88 years old, but it has held up well over the years. All of New Zealand's circulating coins are produced either Canada or the Royal Mint in London, this was a product of the Royal Mint. Like the other coin I shared it is only fifty percent silver, so it's probably more of an interest to collectors than the silver stackers. These coins were only produced for three years making it easy to collect the whole series, and none are particularly expensive. Plus it has a great design!

What's really interesting about the coin is that the bird on it is extinct. Not too long after Europeans settled in New Zealand the bird's disappeared in around 1905 to 1906.

Huia Bird

https://img.inleo.io/DQmfMJCg1VQ4EG8dBUM51DT4Q6ZjsZHKfYioYZPfJjVhrGm/Screenshot%20(1015).png kcc.org.nz

Since they are extinct you can already guess that these are birds that underwent taxidermy. The males had a shorter more solid beak and the females had a longer more flexible and curved beak. Exactly why they evolved this way is unclear. They were known to pair bond for life and when they were encountered in the wild they would almost always be a male and female pair.

By the time the Europeans began to settle in New Zealand the birds numbers were already relatively low. The native Māori population revered the birds feathers because the tail feathers had a broad white band unlike any other native birds. They were worn by people of high social status and were expensive. After the Europeans arrived deforestation began claiming most of their habitat. Additionally rats and predators were introduced which help to decimate the small population.

They were kept as pets by some due to their beautifully colored feathers. It was reported the the birds could learn to say a few words in captivity. It's too bad a breeding program wasn't ever started with the captive birds.

Preservation efforts were made when it was already too late. The last confirmed sighting was in 1907, and possibly another in 1924. Since that time they were never seen again. There was a project launched to try to bring the species back through cloning only to find that the DNA left in specimens was too badly degraded to map the entire genome of the birds. The project was then abandoned and the huia lost to history.

This will wrap up my Saturday edition. I was disappointed when I learned the birds were extinct, but I did learn something so I guess the day wasn't wasted! Have a great day everyone and don't forget to get ready for St. Patrick's Day tomorrow!

And since I am posting in the #freecompliments community I just wanted to remind everyone to take some time today to be kind. A little kindness can make a huge difference in someone's life. Please check out the community and consider joining us!

And my disclaimer:

Gold and silver collecting and stacking can be a fun hobby but isn't for everyone. You can lose money. I'm not a financial advisor and this isn't financial advice, please always do your own research before spending your hard earned money.

All pictures are mine unless otherwise noted.

References:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces5690.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huia

If you are interested in precious metals or even want to learn more about them feel free to come join us #silvergoldstackers

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