5 oz Great White Shark Silver Coin

The 5 oz Great White Shark Silver Coin

The Great White Shark, or Mokoha in Tokelauan, is the 2015 release in Tokelau's ocean life silver bullion series, a programme planned to run for twelve issues celebrating South Pacific marine biodiversity. The 5 oz version sits alongside 1 oz and 1/2 oz silver coins and a 0.5g gold piece in the same release, giving the design a presence across the weight scale. The reverse shows a great white shark in a predatory pose, with the species named in both English and Tokelauan.

What makes the coin unusual is its issuer. Tokelau is one of the smallest territories in the world, around 1,500 people across three atolls with no airport, yet it issues legal tender coins through a licensing arrangement with the New Zealand Mint. The coins carry a New Zealand Dollar face value because Tokelau has no currency of its own, so this is genuine government-backed legal tender from a New Zealand territory rather than a private-mint round. The series' matte finish is a deliberate characteristic, and dealers note that minor surface blemishes as manufactured are normal for these coins rather than defects.

The 5 oz format itself trades the liquidity of 1oz silver coins for a larger single piece of metal. Five-ounce coins occupy an in-between position: a step up from 1 oz without the outlay of 10 oz, with appeal that is partly aesthetic, since the large coin format gives designs like the shark far more canvas. For buyers who want shark-themed silver with sovereign backing, the Tokelau series is one of very few options on the market.

Great White Shark 5 oz Coin Specifications

The 5 oz coin contains five troy ounces (155.5 grams) of .999 fine silver. It is legal tender of Tokelau, a dependent territory of New Zealand, denominated in New Zealand Dollars.

The obverse carries Queen Elizabeth II's right-profile portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley together with the Tuluma, a traditional Tokelauan container used for storing fishhooks and other valuables, a fitting emblem for a marine series; later issues in the programme transitioned to King Charles III. The reverse features the great white shark design with the Tokelauan name Mokoha. For reference, the 1 oz coin in the same release measures 38.75 mm in diameter with a reeded edge and a $5 NZD face value, and had an estimated mintage around 500,000, high for Tokelau but small next to the tens of millions struck for the largest sovereign bullion coins.

Tax Treatment of the Tokelau Great White Shark

As a .999 fine legal tender silver coin, the Great White Shark receives standard silver bullion treatment, which varies far more by country than gold does.

• UK: 20% VAT on new silver bullion. No CGT exemption, since only UK legal tender coins qualify; Tokelau's NZD denomination does not help here.
• US: Most states exempt bullion from sales tax, some with thresholds. The coin meets the .999 fineness minimum for IRA eligibility (the IRS requires 99.9%+ for silver). Long-term gains are taxed at the collectibles rate of up to 28%.
• EU: Full local VAT rates apply to silver (17-27% depending on the country). Germany's margin scheme on imported silver coins can reduce the effective rate to the dealer's margin.
• Canada: GST/HST exempt as silver refined to 99.9%+ purity in coin form.
• Australia: GST-free as investment-grade silver at 99.9%+ purity.
• New Zealand: Despite the NZD face value, 15% GST applies to silver below 99.9% purity; fine silver at 99.9% is exempt, and the .999 Shark sits exactly at that line, so confirm treatment with the dealer.
• Singapore and Hong Kong: Hong Kong levies no tax of any kind. Singapore exempts qualifying Investment Precious Metals silver at 99.9%+ purity.

UK buyers wanting CGT-free silver should look at the 1oz silver Britannia instead.

The Tokelau Ocean Life Series Since 2014

The Great White Shark was the second release in a structured annual programme that gives each year to a different marine species, named in both English and Tokelauan. The series opened in 2014 with Kakahi, the Yellowfin Tuna, available in 1 oz silver and 0.5g gold. The 2015 Mokoha Great White Shark expanded the format range to include 1/2 oz and 5 oz silver alongside the standard sizes, and it remains generally the most popular and recognisable issue in the series, commanding slightly higher secondary-market premiums than later releases.

The programme continued with Hakula the Sailfish in 2016, when mintage was cut to 250,000, then Kapoa (Barracuda, 2017), Mago-Taguta (Leopard Shark, 2018), and Fonu (Loggerhead Turtle, 2019). The 2020 Hahave (Flying Fish) was the first year to add a full 1 oz gold version alongside the silver. Tautu (Porcupine Fish, 2021), Hakuhakulele (Lionfish, 2022), and Laulaufau (Longfin Bannerfish, 2024) followed in both metals.

Across all years the obverse pairs the reigning monarch's portrait with the Tuluma box, while the reverse rotates through the featured species. Beyond the bullion appeal, the series has a genuine educational and linguistic dimension: the Tokelauan species names printed on each coin record a Polynesian language spoken by very few people worldwide, issued by a territory of barely 1,500 residents that has become a surprisingly prolific coin issuer through its New Zealand Mint licensing arrangement.

Great White Shark vs Hammerhead, Taku, and RCM Predator

Shark-themed sovereign silver is a narrow field, which works in the Tokelau coin's favour. The closest rival is the Australian Hammerhead Shark from the Perth Mint: a shark coin from a major sovereign mint with higher recognition, but correspondingly higher premiums. The Royal Mint has never produced a dedicated shark bullion coin, leaving the Tokelau series as one of the few options for buyers building a shark or marine theme.

From the same mint, the Fiji Taku (Hawksbill Turtle) is the natural sibling comparison: also Pacific island legal tender, also marine-themed, also struck by the New Zealand Mint. The Taku had unlimited mintage and a more mass-market positioning, whereas the Shark's defined mintage and series structure give it a stronger collector profile. The Royal Canadian Mint's Predator series also includes shark designs, with the advantages of .9999 purity, a government-owned mint, and broader recognition, at the cost of less thematic continuity than Tokelau's twelve-species programme.

Within the ocean life series itself, the Great White Shark is the standout: it is generally the most recognisable issue and trades at slightly higher secondary-market premiums than the Sailfish or Barracuda years. As a 5 oz piece it also competes with generic 5oz silver bars, which carry lower premiums for the same metal. The decision is the standard coin-versus-bar trade: the bar is cheaper per ounce, while the coin offers legal tender status, a documented design programme, and collector upside the bar will never have.