Silver Ounce 2023 Comix - Detective Comics #27: Batman, 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 eighth issue of the Comix series is dedicated to the comic featuring the very first appearance of the superhero Batman. The coloured design faithfully reproduces Detective Comics #27. 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.

Published in May 1939, Detective Comics #27 serves as the debut of the superhero Batman in a story titled "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate". The issue follows Batman's investigation into the murder of a contractor and his associates. This issue is one of the most expensive and sought-after comic books in the world and has been sold at an action in 2010 for more than 1,1 million US dollars.