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, including this very large three ounces of gold format (abbreviated as 3 oz Au, where "Au" comes from the Latin word for gold, Aurum).
This coin is part of a series dedicated to the famous Fabergé eggs, and depicts the Duchess of Marlborough Egg made in 1902.
A Fabergé egg (Russian: Яйца Фаберже́) is a jewelled egg created by the House of Fabergé, in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire. Possibly as many as sixty-nine were created, of which fifty-seven survive today. Virtually all were manufactured under the supervision of Peter Carl Fabergé between 1885 and 1917, the most famous being the fifty-two "Imperial" eggs, forty-six of which survive, made for the Russian Tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II as Easter gifts for their wives and mothers. Thanks to the exuberance, intricacy and splendour of decoration, Fabergé Eggs have gained a huge popularity as jewellery masterpieces.
The Duchess of Marlborough egg, also known as the Pink Serpent egg, is a jewelled enamelled Easter egg made by Michael Perchin under the supervision of the Russian jeweller Peter Carl Fabergé in 1902. The Duchess of Marlborough Egg is the only large Fabergé egg to have been commissioned by an American (this, it is not really an Imperial egg...), and it is inspired by a Louis XVI clock with a revolving dial. The egg was made for Consuelo Vanderbilt, who became the Duchess of Marlborough in 1895 when she married Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough.
The coin is in Proof quality. It comes boxed, with a Certificate of Authenticity. |
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The obverse of the coin depicts the crowned mature head of Queen Elizabeth II facing right (her effigy known as the "Fourth Portrait", by Ian Rank-Broadley). 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. The designer's initials are not shown.
Below the neck truncation and over the I of ELIZABETH, the small MW mint mark of the Mint of Poland (m over W), for Mennica Warszawska (Mint of Warsaw).
The effigy is small and is in the upper half of the design, surrounded by a decorative neo-rococo scroll ornament. Horizontally below, ELIZABETH II. Around above, the rest of the legend: NIUE ISLAND.
The lower half of the design shows an open Fabergé egg - the "Spring Flowers" egg with a miniature basket of wood anemones inside.
Around left, facing outward, the face value and denomination: 100 DOLLARS. Around right, similarly facing out, the date of issue 2012. |
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