Silver Ounce 2016 Snow Leopard, 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 part of the Endangered Species series by the New Zealand Mint and features the Snow Leopard.

The Mint says about it:
"The Snow Leopard (Panthera Uncia) is a large cat native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia.

Inhabiting alpine and sub-alpine areas, at elevations of up to 4,500 m, these powerful mammals live in some of the harshest climates on earth. Insulated by thick hair, the Leopard’s spotted coat enables it to blend perfectly into rocky mountainsides, while the animal’s wide, fur-covered feet, act as natural snowshoes. Snow Leopards have powerful legs and are able to leap as far as 15 m. Their long tails are used for balance and to cover sensitive body parts against the extreme cold.

These rare and beautiful animals can grow up to 1.5 m in length and weight up to 55 kg. As powerful predators, Snow Leopards have been known to kill animals up to three times their weight, along with smaller fare, such as hares, mountain ibex and game birds.

Snow Leopards are found in 12 countries through Asia including China, Nepal, Russia, and Mongolia. The Snow Leopard is also the National Heritage Animal of Pakistan.

Despite being the apex predator in its ecosystem, the global population of this species is less than 7,000. This is chiefly due to poaching and loss of habitat, both of which pose serious threats to the animal."