Poor little fucker (NZ 6 Pence 1946)

This coin is one of my most recent additions and it's one of those rare occasions featuring prominently an animal on the reverse, which is my favorite type of coinage!

Unfortunately, this coin has a sad story to share as it features a Huia, a New Zealand bird that has long gone extinct, with the last confirmed sighting being in 1907.

The Huia was best known for its distinctive sexual dimorphism:

The bird as remarkable for having the most pronounced sexual dimorphism in bill shape of any bird species in the world. The female's beak was long, thin and arched downward, while the male's was short and stout, like that of a crow. Males were 45 cm (18 in) long, while females were larger at 48 cm (19 in). The sexes were otherwise similar, with orange wattles and deep metallic, bluish-black plumage with a greenish iridescence on the upper surface, especially about the head. source

The bird's populations were already declining before the arrival of Europeans due to hunting by the natives, and the various european activities and the introduction of new invasive species gave it the final blow.

Painting by J. G. Keulemans of a female, a male, and a white female. (Public domain, via wikipedia)

Fun fact, local tribes often kept em around as pets and they were even capable of learning and repeating human words like parrots do.

After reading and learning more about it I must say it was a really interesting creature. It's really sad it's no longer with us :( Fee free to visit wikipedia if you want to learn more about it's story!

Anyways, moving on the other side of the coin..

Nothing surprising here, a portrait of King George VI, King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death on 6 February 1952.

Silverwise, this is a small and low purity coin, 0.500 of 2.83 g

All in all, a small cute coin with a sad story behind it 🥺😥

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