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).
This coin is part of the Deadly and Dangerous series featuring native Australian animals, and shows the Tiger Shark.
The tiger shark gets its name from the distinctive vertical stripes that cover the sides of its body, most predominant when the shark is a juvenile. Not to be confused with the sand tiger shark, the tiger shark reaches lengths of at least 5.5 meters and can weigh up to 900 kilograms. The second largest predatory shark, behind only the great white, this beast is an aggressive hunter, characterised not only by its unique colouration, but also by its blunt head containing a mouth full of serrated teeth with dramatic notch tips that point sideways. Equipped with such a brutal jaw, it can grasp onto struggling victims and shear through flesh and bone easily, making it able, and willing, to go after any prey available. |
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The obverse of the coin features the official Public Seal of Niue.
It has an inner circle of hiapo designs, representing the fonua (land), within which are stylised designs of a tree, representing life and tagata Niue (the people of Niue), surrounded by an outer circle in the form of a traditional Niuean garland of 14 seashells (representing the 14 villages of Niue), and crowned with St Edward's Crown (of the United Kingdom), representing the sovereign as head of state.
Around above between the two circles, the inscription PUBLIC SEAL OF NIUE. Below, a ribbon carries the motto ATUA NIUE TUKULAGI on two lines (meaning "God, Niue Eternally"), below which two crossed katoua (Niue fighting clubs).
Around left, the metal content 1oz 9999 GOLD (one troy ounce of 99.99% gold); around right, the face value 100 DOLLARS. Around below, the date of issue 2023. |
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