The Tuvaluan Dollar is the currency of Tuvalu - a small nation in the Pacific Ocean. Tuvalu has never had banknotes of its own, and has been issuing coins since 1976; these circulate together with coins of the Australian Dollar, which is also legal tender in the country, and to which the Tuvaluan Dollar is pegged.
The Australian Perth Mint issues a large variety of non-circulating legal tender coins under the authority of Tuvalu. Some of these are in the half ounce silver format (abbreviated as 1/2 oz). Strictly speaking, they are not bullion as they are priced at a premium and are targeted at collectors who appreciate them for their artistic merit and collectable value and not just for their precious metal content.
This coin is part of the long-running James Bond coin series by the Perth Mint, and features the You Only Live Twice movie.
The Mint says about it: The fourth of 25 1/2oz silver coins designed for fans of James Bond, this officially licensed product celebrates Thunderball, the 1965 blockbuster based on the Ian Fleming novel of the same name.
Created by former intelligence officer and author Ian Fleming in 1953, James Bond is a fearless, charismatic and deadly British Secret Service agent with a "licence to kill". Also known by the code name 007, he has been portrayed by six actors - Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig - in 25 thrilling movies released by EON Productions since 1962.
In Thunderball, released in 1965, Bond takes on high-ranking SPECTRE operative Emilio Largo, who holds NATO to ransom by hijacking a Vulcan bomber carrying two nuclear weapons. Played by Sean Connery, 007 must find the bombs hidden underwater in the Bahamas before Largo succeeds in extorting £100 million or carries out his threat to unleash nuclear havoc. |