Silver Half Ounce 2017 Hawksbill Turtle, 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 coins under the authority of Niue. Most of these are commemorative and collector issues dedicated to historical or general popular culture themes not related to Niue itself. Many of them are in standard bullion sizes - including half ounce of silver (abbreviated as 1 /2 oz Ag, where "Ag" comes from the Latin word for silver, Argentum). Those issued at prices much higher than their bullion value are separately listed in the Non-Circulating Legal Tender (NCLT) silver half ounce section of the site.

Unlike them, this coin is targeted at bullion investors and was initially released at a price close to the value of its precious metal content.

This coin is part of a New Zealand Mint series of silver bullion coins and features a Hawksbill Turtle.

The Mint says about it:
"The 1/2 oz Silver Turtle Bullion Coin - Niue features a Hawksbill or Taku Turtle, with a stylised shell pattern swimming through the waters of the Pacific Ocean, along with an engraved name, metal quality and weight. The Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata bissa), or locally named Taku, is one of two main turtle species of the South Pacific. Although they have a wide distribution throughout the world's tropical regions, Hawksbill turtles are considered critically endangered due to human fishing practices."