Coin | Silver Two Ounces 2022 The Witcher - Time of Contempt |
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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 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 - for example, two ounces of silver (abbreviated as 2 oz Ag, where "Ag" comes from the Latin word for silver, Argentum).
The Time of Contempt coin is the fourth release in the series dedicated to The Witcher, created in cooperation with the famous writer Andrzej Sapkowski. The series is planned to have 8 coins - one coin struck every year, each dedicated to a book from the saga about the Witcher.
Developed by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher follows the character of Geralt of Rivia. Witchers, generally speaking, are beast hunters who are born with special gifts that can be developed into supernatural abilities at a young age. Living on a continent populated by elves and dwarfs now conquered by humans, the story follows Geralt’s adventures through the war-torn Northern Kingdoms. |
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Obverse | |
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 2021 5 DOLLARS Ag 999.
Around below right, the hallmark Ag 999 (99.9% silver; "Ag" is abbreviated from Argentum, the Latin word for silver, and is internationally used to mark silver coins and jewellery). Below the portrait on the left, the small MW mint mark of the Mint of Poland (m over W), for Mennica Warszawska (Mint of Warsaw).
The effigy and legend are in a small circle on the left. The rest of the surface is taken by decorations and symbols relating to the book, like swords and a unicorn (a live one in a field, and one depicted as an emblem on a shield above), and a snarling wolf's head below as a symbol of the main character's nickname, White Wolf. |
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Reverse | |
The reverse depicts an important scene from Andrzej Sapkowski’s book of the same title. It features Ciri and the unicorn Ihuarraquax. Ihuarraquax was a young pure white unicorn who wandered the Korath desert with Ciri for a few days. She saved him after he was poisoned by a sand monster by using the Force found in the element of fire. Between them, they were able to find food and water for each other and likely neither would have survived the desert without the other.
Ciri's dagger is gold plated, while the unicorn's horn is 3D-prined with mother of pearl.
Around above left, the inscription ANDRZEJ SAPKOWSKI; around above right, TIME OF CONTEMPT.
Below, THE WITCHER BOOK SERIES. |
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Reverse Inscription |
ANDRZEJ SAPKOWSKI TIME OF CONTEMPT THE WITCHER BOOK SERIES |
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Edge | Plain, incuse inscribed | Edge Inscription | [serial number] |
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Notes | Finish: antique, Ultra High Relief (UHR), selective gold plating, mother of pearl insert, edge lettering with unique serial number of each coin. Packaging: boxed, with a numbered Certificate of Authenticity. Date of issue: February 2022. Issue price: US$ 530.20, 528.89 EUR |
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See also |
Coins featuring The Witcher include (ordered by metal / size / year): - 1 oz Gold Proof, The Witcher - The Last Wish, 2021 - 1/10 oz Gold Proof, The Witcher - The Last Wish, 2021 - 1 kg Silver Ultra High Relief, The Witcher - The Last Wish, 2019 - 1 kg Silver Ultra High Relief, The Witcher - Sword of Destiny, 2020 - 1 kg Silver Ultra High Relief, The Witcher - Blood of Elves 2021 - 1 kg Silver Statue, The Witcher - White Wolf 2021 - 1 kg Silver Ultra High Relief, The Witcher - Time of Contempt, 2022 - 5 oz Silver Statue, The Witcher - White Wolf 2021 - 2 oz Silver Ultra High Relief, The Witcher - The Last Wish, 2019 - 2 oz Silver Ultra High Relief, The Witcher - Sword of Destiny, 2020 - 2 oz Silver Ultra High Relief, The Witcher - Blood of Elves, 2021 - 2 oz Silver Ultra High Relief, The Witcher - Time of Contempt, 2022
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