Silver Ounce 2023 Comix - All American Comics #16: Green Lantern, Coin from Niue - detailed information

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.

The tenth issue of the Comix series is dedicated to the comic featuring the very first appearance of the superhero Green Lantern. The coloured design faithfully reproduces All American Comics #16. To further enhance the visual impression of a comic book, the coin was minted in a rectangular format with the typical color scheme also paying tribute to the comic book effect. The reverse shows the Public Seal of Niue as well as the denomination, year of issue, weight, fineness and copyright.

All American Comics #16 was published in July 1940 and serves as the debut of the superhero Green Lantern. The story follows the transformation of engineer Alan Scott into the superhero Green Lantern, as well as his battle against the Nazis and other Golden Age villains. This issue is among the most expensive and sought-after comic books in the world, only 100 copies of the iconic comic are estimated to still be in circulation. An issue of All American Comics #16 in mint condition is estimated by experts to be worth more than 1 million US dollars.