Silver Ounce 2021 Dog Breeds - Dachshund, 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 issue in the Dog Breeds series of coloured silver coins by the Czech Mint and features the Dachshund.

The Mint says about it:
The Czech Mint dedicated the second silver coin from the Dog Breeds cycle to the dachshund. The forest was an important source of livelihood for our ancestors. While today we imagine deer or boar meat under the term "game", in the past badgers were also widely hunted. In the forest there were also pests that caused considerable damage to people - for example, foxes, which like to hunt hares and roe deer.

Because it is almost impossible for a human beings to catch a badger or a fox living in cramped underground burrows, they called for their best friend's help. Low-legged dogs, known as jammers or miners, began to be bred in order to drive the animals out of their hiding places. This way of hunting was already captured in a picture from the 14th century, and specific mentions of "badger dogs" can be found in German books from the 16th century.

The image of dachshunds, as we know them today, dates back to 1879. It is a social, friendly and devoted breed. However, dachshunds are also very stubborn, which is related to their hunting breeding. In the burrow, where they had to fight against a dangerous opponent, they could not rely on their master and had to be completely independent.