Silver Half Ounce 2013 Marie de Rohan, 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, 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. Many of them are in standard bullion sizes, based on the troy ounce - such as the half ounce of silver format (abbreviated as 1/2 oz Ag, where "Ag" comes from the Latin word for silver, Argentum).

This coin was issued as part of a set of four silver coins featuring the Rohan noble family and is dedicated to Marie de Rohan.

The Rohan family were French aristocrats exiled by the French Revolution who decided to stay in the Austrian Empire. They purchased the Sychrov Castle in what is now the Czech Republic and owned it for 125 years until it was nationalised by the Socialist government in 1945.

Marie Aimée de Rohan (December 1600 - 12 August 1679) was a French courtier and political activist, famed for being the centre of many of the intrigues of the first half of the 17th century in France. In various sources, she is often known simply as Madame de Chevreuse.