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).
This premium bullion coin is part of an APMEX series featuring characters from the Godzilla movies, and shows Godzilla battling Mechagodzilla.
APMEX says about it: Among the toughest of Godzilla's opponents is Mechagodzilla, a metallic doppelgänger of the King of the Monsters, who first appeared in the 1974 film "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla." It was designed to be a mass destruction combat robot for an alien invasion. Mechagodzilla is covered in a sleek, metal armor bristling with a number of lethal weapons, including laser beams, missile launchers and a force field. The physical features of the robot's design duplicate the monstrous body that Godzilla possesses, making it quite a frightful mechanical monstrosity. Over the decades, later incarnations of Mechagodzilla presented it as a military weapon for humanity, with each new model more complex and powerful than its predecessor. Instead of being a villain with alien origins, it became mankind's best hope in defeating Godzilla. Its irresistible power combined with the advanced technology makes it a symbol of the blending of human ingenuity and the terrible potential of ambition gone out of control. |
Obverse | |
The obverse of the coin features the official Public Seal of Niue.
It has an inner circle of hiapo designs, representing the fonua (land), within which are stylised designs of a tree, representing life and tagata Niue (the people of Niue), surrounded by an outer circle in the form of a traditional Niuean garland of 14 seashells (representing the 14 villages of Niue), and crowned with St Edward's Crown (of the United Kingdom), representing the sovereign as head of state.
Around above between the two circles, the inscription PUBLIC SEAL OF NIUE. Below, a ribbon carries the motto ATUA NIUE TUKULAGI on two lines (meaning "God, Niue Eternally"), below which two crossed katoua (Niue fighting clubs).
Around above, the face value FIVE DOLLARS. Around below, the date of issue 2024.
The emblem and inscriptions are small and are in the right-hand half of the obverse. The rest of the obverse resembles a claw mark.
Around above right, the precious metal content: 2 OZ .999 FINE SILVER (two troy ounces of 99.9% silver). Around below right, the copyright notice: TM & © TOHO CO., LTD.. |
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