To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of Sagarmatha, Nepal has commissioned the New Zealand Mint to mark the event with two coins. This highly limited legal tender issue features a 1/4oz pure gold and 1oz pure silver coin, and are the only coins endorsed by Sir Edmund Hillary, the Tenzing Norgay family and the Royal Geographical Society who funded the 1953 expedition. Featuring an obverse based on the famous image of Sir Edmund and Tenzing Norgay as they prepared for the ascent on the south face of Everest, the coins carry the name of the reigning monarch, King Gyanendra on the other side.