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, bullion and collector coins under the authority of Niue. These coins are dedicated to historical or general popular culture themes not related to Niue itself.
Some coins are marketed in standard bullion sizes, like half ounce silver, one ounce silver etc, and some of those are also denominated as $1, for which see respective lists. This coin, denominated as One Niue Dollar, is not in a standard ounce-based size and is made using a "smartminting" technique - meaning that it has features not generally found in circulation coins.
This coin is part of a series of coins dedicated to the famous Fabergé eggs, and depicts the Standart Yacht Egg.
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 Standart Yacht Egg was made in 1909 for Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and was presented by him as an Easter gift to his wife, the Czarina Alexandra Fyodorovna. It is currently held in the Kremlin Armoury Museum in Moscow, and it is one of the few Fabergé eggs that have never left Russia. The egg is a transparent hollowed-out rock crystal, mounted horizontally, with a gold band with inlaid leaves of green enamel and small diamonds marking the separation point between upper and lower halves, which bears the inscription "Standart 1909". A crowned lapis lazuli eagle is perched on either side of the egg and a large pear-shaped pearl hangs from each. The shaft consists of two lapis lazuli dolphins with intertwined tails. It is on an ornate stand with classical overtones, made from gold, pearls, and enamel.
The "surprise" inside the egg is a golden replica of the Russian Imperial Yacht, the Standart, made of gold and platinum, and coated in vitreous enamel. The model rests on a carved bed of crystal representing the ocean, but can be removed from the egg.
The Standart was commissioned by Tsar Alexander III in Copenhagen. It was launched in 1895 and was 116 meters long, which made it the largest yacht in the world at that time. Outfitted with ornate fixtures, including mahogany panelling, crystal chandeliers, and other amenities (including a stable with a cow to provide the imperial children with fresh milk) it was a floating palace for the Russian Imperial Family for their vacations in the Baltic Sea. The Russian Imperial Family was vacationing on the Standart during the summer of 1914, when they received the news of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, in Sarajevo, marking the start of World War I. |
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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 with a basket of flowers inside (the "Spring Flowers" egg).
Around left, facing outward, the face value and denomination: 1 DOLLAR. Around right, similarly facing out, the date of issue 2015.
Around below right, the hallmark Ag 999 (99.9% silver; "Ag" is abbreviated from Argentum, the Latin word for silver, and is internationally used to mark silver coins and jewellery). |
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