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 is part of a coin range featuring the Sonic the Hedgehog electronic game.
SEGA released the first game featuring the titular character, Sonic the Hedgehog, on June 23rd, 1991, introducing us to the speedy blue hedgehog who loves adventure, freedom, and never backs down from a challenge. Dr. Eggman debuted alongside Sonic in 1991 as the main antagonist, who dreams of dominating the world and oftentimes traps helpless animals in his robots to use for his nefarious purposes.
As the series continued, we were introduced to an even bigger cast of characters including Miles “Tails” Prower, a two-tailed fox, and Knuckles the Echidna. Tails, Sonic’s best friend first introduced in 1992 in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, can spin his two tails quickly enough to fly. A mechanical genius, he looks up to Sonic and oftentimes aids in his journeys. Knuckles the Echidna appeared in the following game, Sonic the Hedgehog 3. As the guardian of the Master Emerald, he will stop at nothing to protect the Emerald and his home of Angel Island from anyone who wishes to abuse its powers.
In 2022, SEGA released the Sonic Origins collection, which includes remasters of Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD; APMEX teamed up with SEGA to release a collection of officially licensed numismatic products. |
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The obverse of the coin features the official Public Seal of Niue.
It has an inner circle of hiapo designs, representing the fonua (land), within which are stylised designs of a tree, representing life and tagata Niue (the people of Niue), surrounded by an outer circle in the form of a traditional Niuean garland of 14 seashells (representing the 14 villages of Niue), and crowned with St Edward's Crown (of the United Kingdom), representing the sovereign as head of state.
Around above between the two circles, the inscription PUBLIC SEAL OF NIUE. Below, a ribbon carries the motto ATUA NIUE TUKULAGI on two lines (meaning "God, Niue Eternally"), below which two crossed katoua (Niue fighting clubs).
The date of issue 2022 is below the seal.
The rim is decorated with motifs from the game. Around below, an inscription shows the weight, purity, metal content, copyright and denomination: 1 OZ .999 AG ©SEGA TWO DOLLARS. |
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