1 Dollar - Elizabeth II No. 312 Squadron RAF

No. 312 Squadron was formed in July 1940 at Duxford, crewed almost entirely by Czechoslovak pilots who had escaped following the Nazi occupation. They flew Hurricanes during the Battle of Britain and went on to serve in various theatres through the war's end. The squadron was disbanded after the war, reformed in Czechoslovakia, then disbanded again after the Communist coup of 1948 — a trajectory that says more about the politics surrounding these men than any decoration could.

Niue's RAF squadron series, of which this is one piece, was issued under a licensing arrangement that has produced dozens of similar commemoratives. Mintage figures for individual issues in this run were not always uniformly disclosed.