The Madonna of Bruges is one of only a handful of Michelangelo sculptures to leave Italy during his lifetime, purchased by the Flemish merchant Jan van Mouscron shortly after completion and installed in the Church of Our Lady in Bruges around 1506. It remained there through centuries of conflict until Napoleon's forces removed it in 1794 — and again during World War II, when German troops shipped it to Austria in 1944. American soldiers from the Monuments Men unit recovered it from a salt mine in Altaussee in 1945.
Niue's authority to issue commemorative coinage derives from a 1975 agreement with New Zealand, which retains responsibility for the island's defense and foreign affairs. The two-troy-ounce format was the standard vehicle for this bullion-art series.
The Madonna of Bruges is one of only a handful of Michelangelo sculptures to leave Italy during his lifetime, purchased by the Flemish merchant Jan van Mouscron shortly after completion and installed in the Church of Our Lady in Bruges around 1506. It remained there through centuries of conflict until Napoleon's forces removed it in 1794 — and again during World War II, when German troops shipped it to Austria in 1944. American soldiers from the Monuments Men unit recovered it from a salt mine in Altaussee in 1945.
Niue's authority to issue commemorative coinage derives from a 1975 agreement with New Zealand, which retains responsibility for the island's defense and foreign affairs. The two-troy-ounce format was the standard vehicle for this bullion-art series.