Gold Ounce 2018 British Trade Dollar, Coin from Niue - detailed information

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. These coins are dedicated to historical or general popular culture themes not related to Niue itself. Many of them are in standard bullion sizes - such as one ounce of gold (abbreviated as 1 oz Au, where "Au" comes from the Latin word for gold, Aurum).

The 2018 1 oz Niue British Trade Dollar Gold Coin is part of a range dedicated to "trade dollars" and is inspired by the British Trade Dollar issued between 1895 and 1935 (also known as a "Hong Kong Dollar").

The Mint says about this coin:
The British Trade Dollar was originally minted exclusively for British Merchants trading in the Orient. A de facto currency, it facilitated British trade in Chinese luxuries following the end of the First and Second Opium Wars when China ceded Hong Kong to the British.

Designed by engraver George William De Saulles, the coins depicted, for the first time, a helmet-wearing standing image of Britannia holding a trident and British shield with a merchant ship in the background. Presentation pieces were struck in gold by the Bombay Mint, and carry a mint mark “B”, located in the central prong of the trident. Fewer than six original gold British Trade Dollars are thought to exist in the world today, making it one of the world’s rarest gold coins.

The New Trade Dollar Collection consists of five new coin designs celebrating the famous currency of the Orient, introduced by countries across the world to facilitate the exchange of silver for Chinese tea, silks and porcelains. Released over the next two years, each coin is inspired by the original designs of the British, American, French, Japanese and Chinese silver dollars, with exceptionally low issue limits, the new 1oz Gold Trade Dollar High Relief coins are expected to be one of the most highly prized collections of the modern coinage era.