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 have a Zodiac-inspired theme.
This coin is part of a series of oval-shaped Signs of Zodiac coins by the Czech Mint, and features Capricorn.
The Mint says about it: The constellation of Capricorn takes the form of a mythical creature with a goat's head and a fish's tail. According to ancient legend, this is the god of forests, fields, herds and shepherds, called Pan by the ancient Greeks and Faun by the Romans. He was immortalised in the sky by Zeus in thanks for his help in fighting the terrible monster Typhon, who wanted to destroy all the Olympians. Those born under the sign of Capricorn tend to be calm, patient and persistent. Their consistency goes hand in hand with ambition. Although their ambitions are not small, they have no problem achieving their goals thanks to iron discipline.
The unusual oval-shaped coin bears a coloured image of Capricorn on the reverse side. No photographs or computer graphics were used as the basis for the colouring - the author of the coin, Asamat Baltaev, DiS., created an original watercolour painting for it. |