Niue has become a favored issuing vehicle for commemorative programs precisely because its currency relationship with New Zealand allows foreign mints — in this case most likely the Mint of Poland, which has produced the majority of Copernicus-themed numismatic issues in recent decades — to attach legal tender status to collectibles without involving a major sovereign mint. Copernicus himself was born in Royal Prussia in 1473, a territory whose political identity was contested enough that both Poland and Germany claimed him as a national figure well into the 20th century.
Niue has become a favored issuing vehicle for commemorative programs precisely because its currency relationship with New Zealand allows foreign mints — in this case most likely the Mint of Poland, which has produced the majority of Copernicus-themed numismatic issues in recent decades — to attach legal tender status to collectibles without involving a major sovereign mint. Copernicus himself was born in Royal Prussia in 1473, a territory whose political identity was contested enough that both Poland and Germany claimed him as a national figure well into the 20th century.