Niue has operated as a bullion and commemorative coin program under New Zealand currency arrangements since the 1990s, licensing its issuing authority to the Perth Mint and others for precisely this kind of themed gold issue. The Magellan subject marks the 500th anniversary of the first circumnavigation — the expedition departed Spain in 1519 under Magellan, who was killed in the Philippines in 1521 and never completed the voyage himself. Juan Sebastián Elcano brought the single surviving ship, the Victoria, back to Seville with 18 men from an original crew of roughly 270.
Niue has operated as a bullion and commemorative coin program under New Zealand currency arrangements since the 1990s, licensing its issuing authority to the Perth Mint and others for precisely this kind of themed gold issue. The Magellan subject marks the 500th anniversary of the first circumnavigation — the expedition departed Spain in 1519 under Magellan, who was killed in the Philippines in 1521 and never completed the voyage himself. Juan Sebastián Elcano brought the single surviving ship, the Victoria, back to Seville with 18 men from an original crew of roughly 270.