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.
This coin features Dr. Leonard McCoy from Star Trek.
The Mint says about it: Arriving from sickbay of the U.S.S. Enterprise comes Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy! This new Chibi Coin in our Star Trek series is made from 1oz pure silver and shows McCoy in his blue Starfleet uniform.
Despite the shape and colour, this is still a legal tender coin featuring the effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse side. The coin is protected by an acrylic coin case and placed inside Star Trek-themed packaging. You can display your precious collectible as is, with the coin showing through the window, or take it out and admire the shine on this brilliant silver coin. |