The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was instituted by Royal Warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 9 February 1990. It was to be awarded only during 1990 to about 3,000 people selected in recognition of the contribution they have made to some aspect of New Zealand life, especially the various 1990 celebrations.

The medal is known as the Sesquicentennial Medal, because it was issued on the 150th Anniversary of signing of the Treaty of Waitangi by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand on 6 February 1840.

This replica medal is made in a very small production run.