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: Snarling warriors that voyaged across stormy seas, the Vikings were highly feared across Britain and Europe. The most fanatical ones were known as "berserkers", as they fought in an intense battle rage, which they believed gave them superpowers from the God of War, Odin.
This stunning 1oz pure silver coin is coloured and shaped to resemble a Viking as Chibi art, recognisable by his horned helmet, long beard and wooden shield. The obverse bears the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, confirming it is a legal tender coin. Each coin arrives inside a custom-designed box with a large window, allowing easy display. A Certificate of Authenticity is on the back of the box, along with the coin’s unique number in the limited mintage of 2,000 coins. |