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 characters and themes from popular culture.
This coloured silver coin is part of a series dedicated to the Sonic the Hedgehog electronic game, and features game character Miles Tails.
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. Metal Sonic and Amy Rose first appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog CD, commonly knows as Sonic CD. Metal Sonic is the ultimate robot built by Robotnik and regards Sonic as an enemy. Amy Rose has a major crush on Sonic the Hedgehog and became his self-proclaimed girlfriend.
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 (unofficial) "Public Seal of Niue". It has what looks like a plant arrangement at centre, within a double ornamental circle, itself surrounded by a circle of sea shells. This is crowned with St Edward's Crown (a symbol of the United Kingdom, the monarch of which is ultimately the Head of State of Niue).
Around above between the two, the inscription PUBLIC SEAL OF NIUE. Below that, a ribbon carries the motto ATUA NIUE TUKULAGI on two lines, 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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