Silver Ounce 2022 Chibi - Star Wars: Darth Maul, 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 movie characters. Some are also in innovative shapes, such as "Chibi".

Chibi (ちび or チビ) is a Japanese slang word describing something short (a thing, an animal or a person). The term is widely used to describe a specific style of caricature where characters are drawn in an exaggerated way: small and chubby, with stubby limbs and oversized heads. Coins of this type look like cartoon characters and have their corresponding shape; they are also very thick for their size.

The Mint says about this coin:
As the apprentice of Darth Sidious, Darth Maul was trained to be a living weapon of the Sith and bring about the destruction of the Jedi. Made from 1oz pure silver, this thrilling coin has been fully coloured and shaped to resemble the ruthless crime lord as Chibi art.

He is shown with his notable red and black coloured face, horns, and yellow-reddish eyes, donning a black undertunic. As legal tender, the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is engraved on the obverse.

Officially licensed, each coin is placed inside a high-quality Star Wars branded case and includes a large window for display. The Certificate of Authenticity and the coin’s unique number in the mintage of just 2,000 is found on the back of the box.