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 silver bullion coin is part of a European Mint range featuring symbols of the British Isles, and pays tribute to the Welsh Dragon.
The Welsh Dragon is a heraldic symbol that appears on the national flag of Wales.
Historically, the dragon was often used to represent the Celts in battles against the invading Saxons, and by the Britons in battle against the Romans. Because of this, it's likely the Welsh originally chose the dragon as their emblem to help strike fear into the hearts of their enemies.
The oldest recorded use of the dragon to symbolise Wales is in the Historia Brittonum, written around AD 829, but it is popularly supposed to have been the battle standard of King Arthur and other ancient Celtic leaders. Its association with these leaders, along with other evidence from archaeology, literature, and documentary history, led many to suppose that it evolved from an earlier Romano-British national symbol. During the reigns of the Tudor monarchs (themselves originally of Welsh origin), the red dragon was used as a supporter in the English Crown's coat of arms. The red dragon is often seen as symbolising all things Welsh, and is used by many public and private institutions. |