Silver Ounce 2021 King Arthur and Mordred, 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 popular characters from myths, legends and tales.

The Czech Mint dedicated the first silver coin from a four-part miniseries inspired by the legend of King Arthur to the legendary ruler and his enemy to life and death - Sir Mordred.

Although after fifteen centuries of human imagination it is impossible to distinguish between fact and fiction, a man named Arthur evidently lived. At the beginning of the 6th century AD, he was to lead Britain's defence against the Saxons and he was to lay the foundations of an island empire that has been preserved to this day. He was supposed to be the ideal of a medieval ruler - a model of chivalry, courage and honour. Therefore, it is no wonder that a figure from Celtic history was accepted by Christians as their own.

Everyone who told Arthur's story then added something. The king experienced new adventures and gained new allies and opponents. Arthur's most loyal comrades-in-arms were knights who sat with him at a round table where everyone was equal. Among them were, for example, the devoted Lancelot, the valiant Gawain, the pure Galahad, but also the insidious Mordred, to whom Arthur entrusted the rule during his absence. Unfortunately, the king had no idea that the knight was in fact his illegitimate child, who despised him and secretly plotted against him. Mordred immediately took advantage of the situation, took control of Camelot Castle and declared himself the new ruler of Britain. Both kings then clashed in a battle at Camlann. Arthur knocked down Mordred thanks to his miraculous sword Excalibur, but he himself was mortally wounded...