Gold Ounce 2022 E.T. 40th Anniversary, 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). Many of these feature famous movie characters.

This coin, produced under license by The Coin Company Australia in cooperation with APMEX, celebrates the 40th anniversary of the iconic E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial film release.

According to Stephen Spielberg, the concept for E.T. evolved out of a question he asked himself about what if an alien from Close Encounters of the Third Kind had stayed behind as a sort of exchange student. He then imagined the character from the perspective of his own childhood and the loneliness he felt during his parent's divorce. Thus, E.T. was created as a friendly extra-terrestrial being who was left behind on Earth, but aided by the young boy Elliot to return home. In the course of this encounter, a unique friendship would emerge to the benefit of both characters and the delight of audiences around the world.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial first premiered on 26 May 1982 at the Cannes Film Festival and later on 11 June 1982 across the United States. Its success was immediate, even surpassing the first Star Wars movie as the highest-grossing film of all time.