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1 Dollar - Elizabeth II Martian Meteorite NWA 6963
| Issuer | Niue |
|---|---|
| Year | 2016 |
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| Composition | Silver (.999) |
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| Obverse description | Crowned effigy of Queen Elizabeth II facing right, rendered in high relief against a textured field evoking the pitted surface of a meteorite. The Queen wears the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara and a drop earring, with her hair styled in characteristic curls. The circular legend NIUE ISLAND 2016 ELIZABETH II arcs around the upper portion of the field, while the denomination ONE DOLLAR is inscribed along the lower arc. The antique finish treatment gives the entire surface a dramatic, aged appearance consistent with the meteorite theme. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Plain. |
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| Additional information |
NWA 6963 was recovered from the Sahara Desert around 2011 and classified as a shergottite — a basaltic meteorite ejected from Mars by an impact event and eventually captured by Earth's gravity after millions of years in transit. Niue's bullion and novelty silver program has issued dozens of space-themed pieces, but this one at least has a specific, catalogued meteorite behind it rather than a generic "Mars rock" attribution.
The Meteoritical Society's approval of NWA 6963 as Martian origin rests on its oxygen isotope ratios and trapped noble gas signatures matching those measured in Martian atmosphere by the Viking landers.