The Republic of Palau is an island country in the western Pacific, in free association with the United States. In one way or another, the country has been under US administration since it was established, and has never had its own separate currency - it has always used the US Dollar. However, Palau allows some foreign mints to issue coins under its authority; these are denominated in US Dollars but are only legal tender in Palau, so can in a way be considered to be in "Palau Dollars", even though such a currency does not officially exist.
The coins are usually dedicated to historical or general popular culture themes not related to the country itself. Many of them are in the internationally popular half gram (0.5g) of gold collector format.
The Basketball coin is part of the large Golden Highlights series of specially shaped gold mini-coins by CIT Coin Invest.
The Mint says about it:
"Basketball is a sport that can be played by anyone, anywhere, at any time. All you need for a game is a ball, a hoop and the willingness to compete. Dribble on any playground, by yourself, with family members, friends or even random people from your neighbourhood. People all over the world enjoy it and watching the game’s short bursts of action. Players shift back and forth across the court in the blink of an eye. In basketball, there are only few moments to catch your breath before the action starts again. This half gram pure gold is the ultimate win for players, passers, playmakers, shooters, defenders, and dunkers or high flyers."
Coins in the series are shaped like the objects they represent; for a basketball, the shape happens to be round as in normal coins. Like all other gold half grams in the special shapes series, the date of issue is not written on the coin. |
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The obverse of the coin features the unofficial "Emblem of Palau" used on much of the country's coinage. It has an ornate shield at centre, on which is depicted the sea god Neptune, crowned and seated on a round stone and holding a trident in his left hand; on the right, a bare breasted mermaid; on the left, a treasure chest. The ground is a beach, featuring waves and a starfish. Above Neptune, a star. Below the waves, the inscription RAINBOW'S END. Above the shield is a native rowing in a single-outrigger canoe.
Around above, surrounded by three stars on the left and three stars on the right, the name of the country: *** REPUBLIC OF PALAU ***.
Below, the face value $1 (one dollar). |
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