1 Dollar - Elizabeth II Baby Dragon

Niue has used its sovereign minting rights since the 1990s to license collectible issues through the New Zealand Mint, a arrangement that generates far more revenue for the island territory than anything its 1,600 residents produce domestically. The Baby Dragon belongs to a lunar-themed series capitalizing on Chinese New Year collector demand — 2012 was the Year of the Dragon, the most commercially potent animal in the twelve-year cycle and reliably the highest-selling release of any lunar program.

Mintages on these Niue issues are typically capped by the New Zealand Mint's sales projections rather than any legislative ceiling, and sellouts frequently occurred within weeks of release on Dragon-year pieces.