Niue, a sovereign state in free association with New Zealand, uses two official legal tender currencies. The New Zealand Dollar is the circulation currency for daily transactions, while the government also authorises legal tender coins in the Niue Dollar currency for collector's purposes.
A number of mints issue a large variety of commemorative and collector coins under the authority of Niue. One of them is the Czech Mint, which uses not only standard bullion sizes but also some formats based on the Czech Gold Ducat, including 40 Ducats weighing a massive 139.5 grams.
The coins are "Non-Circulating Legal Tender" (NCLT) and not bullion because they are issued at prices much higher than their bullion value and are targeted at collectors who appreciate them for their artistic or sentimental value, and not at bullion investors.
The Mint says about this coin: The National Theatre, which is the heart and soul of the Czech cultural scene, is one of the largest monuments of old Prague.
The construction of their own stone theatre was a matter of Czech honour and pride in the 19th century. It was to serve the development of the Czech language, which was oppressed by German, and to support the production of domestic dramas and operas. The establishment of the National Theatre was enabled by the cooperation of all social classes, and the ceremonial laying of the foundation stone, which took place in 1868, became a nationwide political event. However, the joy of the Czechs from their own theatre did not last long, because the Neo-Renaissance building, which was the work of our greatest artists, was engulfed by a devastating fire in 1881. "It was Friday, the blackest Friday of our modern national life. The news about it came to us only on Saturday at noon and today I see my crushed father sitting with head in his hands at the table, and my mother crying in the corner", the poet Jaroslav Kvapil wrote.
However, real Czech cohesion became apparent at that time - a generation of children learned about the money boxes placed in our villages and towns intended for renovation of the theatre. In 1883, visitors were greeted by the tones of Smetana's Libuše and the opening of the National Theatre completed the Czech national revival. |