Niue's Chinese lunar series coins are struck under a longstanding licensing arrangement that allows the island territory — population under 2,000 — to issue collectible coinage far exceeding any domestic monetary need. The 100g .999 silver format became a recurring vehicle for this series, produced at the Perth Mint in Australia rather than on the island itself.
2013 marked the Year of the Snake in the 60-year sexagenary cycle, the least commercially popular of the twelve zodiac animals in Western markets — a pattern that has historically kept mintages for snake-year issues lower than dragon or tiger equivalents.
Niue's Chinese lunar series coins are struck under a longstanding licensing arrangement that allows the island territory — population under 2,000 — to issue collectible coinage far exceeding any domestic monetary need. The 100g .999 silver format became a recurring vehicle for this series, produced at the Perth Mint in Australia rather than on the island itself.
2013 marked the Year of the Snake in the 60-year sexagenary cycle, the least commercially popular of the twelve zodiac animals in Western markets — a pattern that has historically kept mintages for snake-year issues lower than dragon or tiger equivalents.