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 coins under the authority of Niue. Most of these are commemorative and collector issues 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). Those issued at prices much higher than their bullion value are separately listed in the Non-Circulating Legal Tender (NCLT) silver ounce section of the site.
Unlike them, this coin is targeted at bullion investors and was initially released at a price close to the value of its precious metal content.
This "Premium Bullion Coin" is the sixth release in the New Zealand Mint's DC Comics Bullion Coins Series series dedicated to DC Comics characters and themes, and features Green Lantern.
Green Lantern's first appearance was in 1940 in the All-American-Comic - issue '16. Unlike many other superheroes, Green Lantern does not derive his strength from a mutation or extraterrestrial origin, but from a highly developed and magical technology in the form of a ring. The logo is often seen as an interpretation of this very powerful ring. Depending on the wearer's skill and willpower, he can materialise almost anything with it.
The superhero himself belongs to a small but powerful unit that stands up for law and justice throughout the universe, called the Green Lantern Corps. Hal Jordan, the first human and youngest recruit, is responsible for the entire Earth in the process and must face a variety of villains to save the fate of humanity. Among his most famous opponents are Larfleeze, Sinestro and Grayven. Green Lantern is a founding member of the Justice League together with Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Superman, Batman, and The Flash. |