FORTY-THREE million shiny, new $2 and $5 coins will be available in Hongkong for the first time tomorrow - minus the Queen's profile. The first consignment - worth $125 million and made up of 30 million $2 coins and 13 million $5 coins - has been transported to banks throughout the territory in preparation for the coins' introduction. Most of the coins were stored in Hongkong Bank's central treasury in Kowloon Bay since they were made at the British Royal Mint. A small amount had been in the bank's vault in its Central headquarters. The coins are the first in the 150-year history of the territory not to have the British monarch's head on them. Replacing the Queen is the bauhinia, Hongkong's official flower. The design reflects the change in sovereignty in 1997. ''All banks will be getting some of the coins on New Year's Day so if anybody especially wants them on Saturday, there should be no problem,'' a Monetary Affairs Branch spokesman said.
