Papua New Guinea - 1978 - Annual Proof Coin Set

The 1978 coinage of Papua New Guinea portrays that nation's extraordinary wildlife, together with the symbols of national sovereignty. The coinage employs a decimal system with 100 toea equal to one kina.

The ten kina coin features the bird of paradise—the national bird of Papua New Guinea—and the five stars of the Southern Cross constellation. The design of this coin, the largest coin to be issued by Papua New Guinea, is based on the national flag.

A New Guinea eagle is depicted on the five kina coin. Before the introduction of coinage, the feathers of this bird and the bird of paradise were used as currency. The one kina coin portrays the river and sea crocodiles found only in New Guinea. The hole in the one kina coin is a carryover from the days when coins were worn on strings or carried on sticks. The reverse of this coin carries a stylized emblem of the Bank of Papua New Guinea, while the national crest of Papua New Guinea appears on the reverse of all the other coins.

Bennett's cassowary, a flightless bird indigenous only to Papua New Guinea, is the subject of the twenty toea coin. The spotted cuscus, a member of the marsu-wildlife, is shown on the ten toea coin. The five toea coin portrays the rare plateless turtle. The ornate butterfly cod, which inhabits the coral reefs around Papua New Guinea, is shown on the two toea coin. The one toea coin depicts a paradise bird-wing butterfly, a species native to Papua New Guinea.