Niue's early commemorative program in the late 1980s was essentially a licensing operation — the island territory issued coins under New Zealand monetary authority while contracting designs tied to international celebrities and sports figures, generating revenue almost entirely from collector sales rather than circulation. Beckenbauer was at this point freshly retired from playing and midway through building the managerial career that would take West Germany to the 1990 World Cup title.
Niue's early commemorative program in the late 1980s was essentially a licensing operation — the island territory issued coins under New Zealand monetary authority while contracting designs tied to international celebrities and sports figures, generating revenue almost entirely from collector sales rather than circulation. Beckenbauer was at this point freshly retired from playing and midway through building the managerial career that would take West Germany to the 1990 World Cup title.