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2 Dollars - Elizabeth II Rhyton
| Issuer | Niue |
|---|---|
| Year | 2009 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 2 Dollars |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Crowned effigy of Queen Elizabeth II facing right, modeled after the third portrait by Raphael David Maklouf, wearing the Queen Mary tiara, drop earrings, and a pearl necklace. The legend ELIZABETH II · NIUE · TWO DOLLARS is arranged along the upper and right periphery in raised Latin lettering, with the date 2009 at the lower rim. The field is mirror-polished, typical of proof coinage, with a beaded inner border encircling the design. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse description | Central motif depicting a gilded rhyton from the Panagyurishte Treasure — a Thracian gold vessel fashioned in the form of a female head facing right, surmounted by a tall ewer with a figurine finial, rendered in gold-plated relief against a mirror-polished field. The background incorporates engraved ancient Thracian inscriptions in archaic script. The inscription PANAGYURISHTE TREASURE appears in the upper right field in raised Latin lettering. A Greek meander (key) decorative border frames the entire design along the inner rim. |
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| Additional information |
The rhyton — a conical drinking vessel originating in the ancient Near East and widely adopted across the Achaemenid Persian empire and later Hellenistic world — became a prestige object traded far beyond its origin cultures. Niue, a self-governing island nation in free association with New Zealand, has issued collector silver under its own authority since the 1980s, effectively licensing its sovereign coinage rights to generate revenue that its population of roughly 1,600 cannot otherwise produce domestically. KM#220 is part of a broader ancient vessels series struck at a third-party facility and sold directly into the collector market rather than circulation.