Silver Ounce 2021 Australia at Night - Wombat, 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.

The Wombat coin is the fourth design in the Australia at Night series of proof coins. The coin has a stylish black finish (probably rhodium plating).

The proprietary black treatment makes the wombat look like it has been caught in the light of the moon that rises over the farmhouse and windmill of an outback sheep or cattle station.

The northern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii), or yaminon, is one of three extant species of wombats. It is one of the rarest land mammals in the world; unfortunately it is critically endangered. Its historical range extended across New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland as recently as 100 years ago, but it is now restricted to one single location, a 3-square-kilometre range within the Epping Forest National Park in Queensland. In 2003, the total population consisted of a mere 113 individuals, including only about 30 breeding females. In the last census taken in 2013, the estimated population was 196 individuals, with an additional 9 individuals at the Richard Underwood Nature Refuge at Yarran Downs near St. George in southern Queensland. In recent years, the population has experienced a slow but steady increase to an estimated 230 individuals in 2015.

There are only three extant species of wombats, a large Australian marsupial. Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupeds, approximately 1 meter in length, with a very short tail. An adult common wombat averages a weight of over 25 kg. They are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of south-eastern Australia and Tasmania. The name "wombat" comes from the Eora Aboriginal community, who were the original inhabitants of the Sydney area.