| Coin | Gold Tenth-Ounce 2021 Wonders of the World - Hanging Gardens of Babylon |
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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 the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World series by the Czech Mint, and depicts the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
The mint says about it:
The road to the second wonder of the world leads to Mesopotamia, where, according to the Bible, lay an earthly paradise. The capital of the land between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers was Babylon. Only its ruins remain today, but its splendour was a sight for sore eyes to behold for ancient visitors. They saw the mighty fortifications dominated by Ishtar's Gate, or the giant tower to which the biblical tale of the confusion of tongues is linked. But these magnificent monuments were nothing compared to the hanging gardens. The breathtaking structure consisted of stepped terraces that were built on top of each other in the manner of a pyramid. The individual terraces were covered with exotic plants and water flowed down them. The air was heavy with the scent of aromatic flowers. Cypress trees and palm trees provided soothing shade in a land scorched by a relentless sun. No wonder legends of a paradise in the middle of the desert spread around the world. According to one legend, the gardens were created during the reign of the mythical Semiramis, the queen who made Babylon the largest and most lavish metropolis of antiquity. According to other sources, King Nebuchadnezzar II had them built for his wife Amytis, who missed the green hills of her homeland in a city in the middle of the desert. |
| Mint | Czech Mint |
Mint Mark | Monogram ČM |
Total Mintage | 1,000 |
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| Obverse | |
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The obverse of the coin shows at its centre the crowned mature head of Queen Elizabeth II facing right (her effigy known as the "Fourth Portrait"). The Queen wears the "Girls of Great Britain and Ireland" diamond tiara, a wedding gift from Queen Mary (Her Majesty's grandmother) in 1947 - which she also has on the Machin and the Gottwald portraits.
In small letters below the head, the artist's initials IRB (for Ian Rank-Broadley).
The effigy is smaller than usual and is surrounded by a wide rim divided by depictions of Greek columns into eight sectors. Seven of these depict the seven wonders of the ancient world: the Egyptian pyramids, the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse on the island of Pharos. In the eighth sector below, on five lines the monarch's legend, face value and date of issue: NIUE ISLAND 5 DOLLARS ELIZABETH II 2021.
Near the rim below left, the mint mark of the Czech Mint - a crowned monogram of the letters ČM (Česká mincovna). |
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| Reverse | |
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The reverse design shows a supposed image of hanging gardens with a number of terraces, columns, trees and waterfalls.
On two lines around below right, the inscription THE HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON.
The designer's monogram PB (for Petra Brodská) is in the right field, above the N of BABYLON. |
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| Reverse Inscription |
THE HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON |
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| Edge | Plain | Edge Inscription | None |
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| Notes | Finish: proof.
Czech Mint Product Code: 75931-611
Release date: November 2021.
200 individually carded coins plus 800 sealed in a special packaging perforated so that ten parts can be conveniently divided if necessary (80 packs of 10 coins each). The ten-pack, product code 76035-611, was issued at 63,990 CZK (2,666.00 EUR). |
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| See also |
Coins in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World series issued for Niue:
- 1 oz Gold, The Great Pyramid of Giza, 2021
- 1/10 oz Gold, The Great Pyramid of Giza, 2021
- 1 oz Gold, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, 2021
- 1/10 oz Gold, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, 2021
- 1 oz Gold, The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, 2022
- 1/10 oz Gold, The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, 2022
- 1 oz Gold, The Statue of Zeus at Olympia, 2022
- 1/10 oz Gold, The Statue of Zeus at Olympia, 2022
- 1 oz Gold, The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, 2022
- 1/10 oz Gold, The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, 2022
- 1 oz Gold, The Colossus of Rhodes, 2023
- 1/10 oz Gold, The Colossus of Rhodes, 2023
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