Silver Ounce 2014 Black Rhinoceros, 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 - typically, one ounce of silver (abbreviated as 1 oz Ag, where "Ag" comes from the Latin word for silver, Argentum). Many of these feature various animals.

This coin is the second release in the Endangered Species series by the New Zealand Mint and features the Black Rhinoceros.

In the early 20th century the Black Rhinoceros, Diceros bicornis, was the most plentiful of all Rhino species across the African continent. Between 1970 and 1992, their numbers were severely reduced by over 95% due to organised poaching and black market demand for their horns. By 1993, only 2,300 survived in the wild. Intensive anti-poaching efforts over recent years have had encouraging results, however, the increase in numbers is slow. In 2013, the IUCN estimated that approximately 5,055 Black Rhinoceros live in Eastern and Central Africa.