Issued the same year Diana died in the Paris tunnel crash of August 1997, this Niuean crown-sized piece was one of hundreds of commemorative issues that flooded the market from small sovereign nations whose primary revenue stream is exactly this kind of licensed memorial coinage. Niue has operated a mint program through the New Zealand government since the 1980s, producing legal tender coins that almost never circulate on the island itself.
Issued the same year Diana died in the Paris tunnel crash of August 1997, this Niuean crown-sized piece was one of hundreds of commemorative issues that flooded the market from small sovereign nations whose primary revenue stream is exactly this kind of licensed memorial coinage. Niue has operated a mint program through the New Zealand government since the 1980s, producing legal tender coins that almost never circulate on the island itself.