Papua New Guinea took the names of its money from traditional exchange. Kina is the gold-lipped pearl shell long used in trade, as a store of wealth and for adornment. Toea is a shell valued in trading and in bride-wealth ceremonies in Motuan villages; it came from the ocean depths and could be gathered only at certain times of year, and was worked into armbands.

The national currency arrived in 1975, with one kina divided into 100 toea. The toea coins came in 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 denominations, while the 1 kina coin was introduced to replace the Australian dollar that had been in everyday use.

This 1979 set brings together eight coins: the five toea values plus 1, 5 and 10 kina. The small denominations are in bronze and cupronickel, while the 5 and 10 kina are struck in silver. Papua New Guinea's proof sets were produced by the Franklin Mint in the United States, and the mirror fields set off the frosted animals and birds.