Silver Ounce 2020 French Trade Dollar, 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).

The 2020 1 oz Niue French Trade Dollar Silver Coin is part of a range dedicated to "trade dollars" and is inspired by the famous French Indochinese silver Trade Piastre de commerce.

The Mint says about this coin:
This magnificent silver coin was initially introduced with the same specifications as the Spanish piece of eight equalling 24.4935 grams pure silver, later reduced to 24.3 grams in 1895. Created to facilitate trade in the French Indochinese Union created in 1887, it was used throughout the entire Indo-Chinese colonies, to create a much more stable economy. The Piastre, distinctly French in appearance, depicted elements from the Great Seal of the Second French Republic which was designed in 1848 by engraver Jean-Jacques Barre. It was his son Albert who designed the Indochinese Piastre coins with the family name of BARRE appearing below the personification’s foot.

The Piastre de commerce was initially closer in value to the American silver Dollar than it was to the French Franc. After the First World War, the Indochinese Piastre was one of the last coins to adhere to the silver standard which remained in place until 1930. The French Indo-China Piastre de Commerce coins, which included the smaller denomination copper coins of ½ cent and one cent and silver coins of 10, 20 and 50 cents based on the Seated Liberty Piastre designs, were minted at the Monnaie de Paris. The final one Piastre coins depicting this beautiful design was produced in 1928.