Niue Silver Coins

Silver Bullion Coins from New Zealand

Located in the same corner of the world as Australia, the silver bullion coins of New Zealand are often overlooked when compared to the vast array of products available from the Perth Mint and the Royal Australian Mint. Despite the prominence of the latter mints and their bullion coin collections, the New Zealand Mint manages to capture the attention of investors and collectors with a handful of well-designed and expertly crafted silver bullion coins. Learn more about the silver coins for sale from New Zealand now!

Fiji Taku/Niue Hawksbill Silver Coin

The most prominent coin program from the New Zealand Mint is, by far, the Taku/Hawksbill coin series. Introduced in 2010, the coin program was originally known as the Fiji Taku coin. From 2010 to 2013, the coins were issued for the nation of Fiji. From 2014 onward, the coins are issued for Niue and known as the Niue Hawksbill coin. Despite the change in the nation of issue, the primary design elements have largely remained the same. Here’s a rundown of the design elements since its debut:

• 2010-2012 Fiji Taku: The reverse side of the coins features the Hawksbill turtle, which is known in the local Fijian tongue as the Taku (hence the original program name), swimming in the bubbly waters of the South Pacific. The obverse of the coins originally featured the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II created in 1998 by Ian Rank-Broadley.
• 2013 Fiji Taku: The design of the Hawksbill turtle remained the same, but the opposite side of the coin no longer featured the effigy of Her Majesty. Following a coup in Fiji and political discord between the nation and Great Britain, the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was swapped out for the Fijian crest.
• 2014 Niue Hawksbill: Since the change to Niue, the program has maintained the design of a Hawksbill turtle on the reverse side. The obverse returned to the use of a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. The only major change to the design with the switch to Niue was on the half-moon sliver on the reverse. This mirrored field previously read “Fiji Taku” from 2010-2013, but now reads simply “Turtle.”

The New Zealand Mint offers the Niue Hawksbill Turtle annually in 1/2 oz silver, 1 oz silver, and 5 oz silver bullion options. The coins are popular among investors for a sleek design and low mintage figures, which helps draw in collectors as well.

Packaging of Fiji Taku/Niue Hawksbill Coins

As the primary bullion series from the New Zealand Mint, the Niue Hawksbill is available for individual purchase or bulk investment. The packaging options on the Niue Hawksbill include the following (by weight):

• 1/2 oz: individual protective plastic or tubes of 20 coins
• 1 oz: individual plastic or protective plastic tubes of 20 coins
• 5 oz: individual protective capsules.

Tokelau Series

One of the newest silver coin collections from the New Zealand Mint is the 12-coin Tokelau Series. Coins in this series feature a different predator from the world’s oceans, with a particular focus on the animals swimming in the waters around the South Pacific island of Tokelau. Available designs to date include:

• Tuna
• Sailfish
• Great White Shark
• Barracuda
• Leopard Shark

Each of the coins contains 1 Troy oz of .999 pure silver and has a limited mintage of 250,000 coins. The Tokelau Series coins are available in individual plastic, mint tubes of 20, or boxes of 500 coins (25 tubes).

Disney Silver Coins

One of the most diverse and abundant coin programs from New Zealand are the Disney Silver Coins. Among the coins in this program, you’ll find colorized designs and beautiful silver coins in Brilliant Uncirculated condition. Designs range from Mickey Mouse themes to the vehicles of Cars and the primary characters from the film Frozen. Here’s a rundown of the available collections:

• Mickey Mouse: The Mickey Mouse collection of silver coins features the popular face of the Walt Disney empire throughout the nearly 90 years he’s existed in cartoons, TV shows, and theme park displays. Mickey Mouse’s greatest moments, from Steamboat Willie to Fantasia are captured in silver BU designs and colorized versions.
• Cars: All of your favorites from the Cars franchise of feature films are available in this collection. Lightning McQueen, Tow Mater, and Sally all appear in this collection with colorized designs of the feature characters on the reverse.

Star Wars Silver Coins

Although Disney owns the Star Wars brand now, the Star Wars silver coins that roll out from the New Zealand Mint are worthy of their own attention. The New Zealand Mint’s two primary programs here include the following options:

• Star Wars Classic: The Star Wars Classic coins focus on the original trilogy of films from the 1970s and 1980s. The characters that made the franchise a global phenomenon are featured on silver BU coins, as well as gold bullion options.
• Star Wars: The latest generation of films launched as a sequel to the original films, debuting with The Force Awakens in 2015 have their own series of coins as well. Each of these is different in that the coins feature colorized designs of the new characters leading the franchise forward.

Warriors of History Silver Coins

One of New Zealand’s latest forays into limited-mintage programs was the Warriors of History. This collection featured limited mintage figures and colorized designs of warriors from the annals of history. The collection debuted in 2016 and features each of the following warrior designs:

• 2016 Samurai Coin
• 2016 Vikings Coin
• 2016 Spartan Coin
• 2017 Knights Templar Coin
• 2017 Romans Coin

Each release in this series features 1 Troy oz of .999 pure silver with a limited mintage of only 5,000 coins. The coins are only available inside of individual, rectangular cases with a textured cover.

New Zealand Lunar Coins

Like many other mints, the New Zealand Mint also offers a Lunar Series of silver and gold coins. The New Zealand Mint’s lunar coins are available in bullion and proof options with much lower mintage figures than most other coin programs in this genre.

Athena Owl Stackers

In 2017, a beautiful series of stackable silver coins was introduced on behalf of the island nation of Niue that resurrected a coin design from Ancient Greece. The Athena Owl Stackers are 1 oz silver coins with hammered finishes and a stackable, interlocking rim design on both sides of the coin that enable easy, secure storage of the coins. Each coin in this series comes with 1 Troy oz of .999 pure silver content and a face value of $2 (NZD) backed by the government of Niue. The coins are issued with no mintage caps and the same designs each year. Those designs include the following details:

• Obverse: On this side of the coin, you will find the popular effigy of Queen Elizabeth II created in 1998 by Ian Rank-Broadley. Originally used by the Royal Mint of England starting in 1998, in 1999 the effigy came to the coins of Australia, New Zealand, Niue, and other South Pacific nations. It remains in use since that time for nations like Niue and features the Queen in right-profile relief with the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara on her head.
• Reverse: This face of the coin bears a coin design that is more than 2,000 years old. Based on the Athena Owl Tetradrachm, the image features an ancient owl image often associated with the Greek goddess Athena. The owl is shown clutching the perch of a single branch with a half-moon sliver above its head and a fig branch nearby.

The Athena Owl Tetradrachm was introduced in 510 BCE and remained in production until 38 BCE within Athens. There are written records suggesting that Judas was paid for his betrayal of Jesus with Athenian Tetradrachms, though it is not specified whether or not those coins had the Athena Owl design. The image on those coins featured a profile bust of Athena’s head on the obverse and the owl depicted here on the reverse.

Hogwarts House Foils

When it comes to silver bullion, 2020 may very well be remembered as the year silver foils broke out. Silver foils had previously been issued as a bonus with proof silver coins in the form of a pure silver Certificate of Authenticity card included with purchase. Given the popularity of those foils as a part in a collectible coin release, mints began issuing silver foils as a standalone option for collectors.

Among the early options in this realm was the Hogwarts House Foil issued on behalf of Niue. The Hogwarts House Foils stand out immediately from many other options in this area because the foils were issued with a face value in New Zealand dollars. The foils had pure silver obverse fields with a circular element, similar to a coin, with the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. It was the reverse side that made each one visually brilliant. The reverse includes full-color, photo-quality graphics capturing the crest and animal of each of the four student houses at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry from the Harry Potter franchise. Available in this release were the following designs:

• Gryffindor: the release for Gryffindor used the house colors of red and gold with a powerful lion, the house animal, on the crest.
• Hufflepuff: in this release, the black-and-yellow colors of Hufflepuff feature in the design alongside the Triwizard Champions Cup won by Cedric Diggory and a badger on the crest.
• Ravenclaw: for the Ravenclaw house, the design shows a powerful predatory bird at the center of the crest design.
• Slytherin: the fourth option shows the black-and-green colors of Slytherin house with a cobra snake on the crest.

Production of New Zealand Silver Coins

The New Zealand Mint is not the official sovereign mint of the nation, but rather a privately-owned mint in Auckland. It is the only mint of its kind in New Zealand and has a rich history of coining silver and gold for smaller nations throughout the South Pacific. Many of New Zealand Mint’s coin programs are produced in concert with the private Sunshine Minting of the United States.

Buying Silver Coins from New Zealand at JM Bullion

If you have any questions about the silver for sale from New Zealand, please don’t hesitate to contact JM Bullion. Our customer service team is available to you at 800-276-6508, online using our live chat service, and via our email address.