| Coin | Silver Quarter Ounce 2021 Athenian Owl |
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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 - including the small quarter ounce of silver format (abbreviated as 1 /4 oz Ag, where "Ag" comes from the Latin word for silver, Argentum).
The Owl of Athena type of coins is the SilverTowne mint's first official coin minted with a face value.
The collection of Silver Athena Owl Stackable Coins not only revive a historic denomination design, the products also come with a unique rim design that allows for the coins to be stacked safely and securely. The outer edge of the design field on both sides of the coin includes alternating raised and lowered fields that allow for easy stacking of the silver coins.
Both sides of the coin have a unique background design element that completes the ancient look and feel of the products. That background field includes a hammered, or "stippled", finish that evokes the look of the Athenian Owl Tetradrachm as it would have appeared when originally produced in Greece. |
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| Obverse | |
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The obverse of the coin shows the crowned mature head of Queen Elizabeth II facing right (her effigy known as the "Fourth Portrait"). The Queen wears the "Girls of Great Britain and Ireland" diamond tiara, a wedding gift from Queen Mary (Her Majesty's grandmother) in 1947 - which she also has on the Machin and the Gottwald portraits.
In small letters below the head, the artist's initials IRB (for Ian Rank-Broadley).
Around the effigy is the monarch's legend, the date of issue and the value: ELIZABETH II NIUE ONE DOLLAR 2021.
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| Reverse | |
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The reverse design revives the iconic Ancient Athenian tetradrachm coins. It features the "Owl of Athena", which originates in ancient Greek mythology. The goddess Athena kept an owl (her patron animal) on her shoulder that revealed truths to her and represented wisdom and knowledge. The symbol of Athena's owl was eventually used on currency as a symbol of the city of Athens, whose patron goddess was Athena.
The Owl is perched on a tree branch, standing right, head facing, with an olive sprig and a berry behind on the left along with crescent moon in the upper left field.
To the right, ΑΘΕ - the first letters of ΑΘΕΝΑ (spelled Αθήνα in modern Greek) as they appeared on Athenian coins.
Around below, the precious metal content 1/4 OZ .999 FINE SILVER (one quarter of a troy ounce of 99.9% silver). |
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| Reverse Inscription |
ΑΘΕ 1/4 OZ .999 FINE SILVER |
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| Edge | Milled | Edge Inscription | None |
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| Notes | Finish: bullion (Brilliant Uncirculated).
Packaging: individual coin in plastic flip, or 30 coins in mint tube. |
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| See also |
Coins in the Athenian Owl series include:
- 1 oz Silver, Athenian Owl, 2017
- 1/4 oz Silver, Athenian Owl, 2017
- 1 oz Silver, Athenian Owl, 2018
- 1/4 oz Silver, Athenian Owl, 2018
- 1 oz Silver, Athenian Owl, 2019
- 1 oz Silver, Athenian Owl, 2020
- 1/4 oz Silver, Athenian Owl, 2020
- 1 oz Silver, Athenian Owl, 2021
- 1/4 oz Silver, Athenian Owl, 2021
- 1 oz Silver, Athenian Owl, 2022
- 1/4 oz Silver, Athenian Owl, 2022
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Search for Niue: Silver Quarter Ounce 2021 Athenian Owl on eBay 