Gold Tenth-Ounce 2016 Blanche of Valois, 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 a tenth ounce of gold (abbreviated as 1/10 oz Au, where "Au" comes from the Latin word for gold, Aurum).

This coin is part of a four coin series by the Czech Mint marking the 700th anniversary of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia (Bohemia later evolved into the modern state of Czechia); it is dedicated to his wife, Blanche of Valois.

The Mint says about the coin:
It is 700 years since the Czech king John of Luxembourg and his wife Eliška Přemyslovna had a son Václav, who later adopted a name after his godfather - Charles IV; his efforts to improve the countries of the Czech Crown earned him the nickname Father of the Homeland.

Besides the challenges of being ruler, he took - four times - the role of a husband. His first wife was the very young Blanche of Valois. The daughter of Count Charles of Valois and his third wife Mahaut de Chatillon, Blanche of Valois (in French Blanche de Valois) was born in 1316 and was a sister of the future French King Philip VI. The Czech King John of Luxembourg used the potential political influences and brought his son Václav to the French Court for upbringing. He adopted the name Charles (in Czech: Karel) after the confirmation and on May 15th, 1323 was to wed with Blanche of Valois. It was a symbolic marriage, they were both only seven years old. After several years of joint custody Blanche travelled to Luxembourg, Northern Italy and Lombardy. They met again in 1334 in Prague. Blanche gave to Charles IV two daughters, Margaret and Catherine. After the death of John of Luxembourg in 1347, she was crowned the Czech queen, but less than a year after that unexpectedly passed away.