The Cook Islands, a sovereign state in free association with New Zealand, uses two official legal tender currencies. The New Zealand Dollar circulates in parallel with the local Cook Islands Dollar; at the same time, the government also authorises many legal tender coins in the Cook Islands Dollar currency for collector's purposes.
Collector coins are dedicated to historical or general popular culture themes not related to the country itself. Many of them are in standard bullion sizes, including the large three ounces of silver format - such as this coin.
The Mint says about this coin: The "Shiva: protector of the Universe" coin is the fourth issue in the most award-winning Gods of the World" series. The coin has an antique finish with dark highlights and is struck on a 3 oz pure .999 silver 50mm blank in the highest quality. It has a limited mintage of only 333 pcs worldwide and comes in a beautiful box with a Certificate of Authenticity.
Shiva is one of the most important but also most complex Hinduism gods, who embody contradictory qualities. Shiva means “auspicious one” in Sanskrit and is both protector and destroyer. Characteristic for Shiva is his long hair, often tied up high, with a crescent moon and a skull in it, and he is often depicted with the sacred cow. Shiva has a third eye on his forehead, which was created when Parvati, Shiva’s wife, jokingly covered his eyes. The whole world went dark. Suddenly, a beam of light sprang from Shiva’s forehead to replace the sun. This became his third eye. In his stretched earlobes, Shiva wears different earrings, symbolising the masculine and the feminine. Shiva has four arms that can always hold additional attributes, depending on the form in which the god appears. |