Catalog
| Issuer | Niue |
|---|---|
| Year | 1987 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | KM#5 |
| Obverse description | Central device features the coat of arms of Niue, a quartered shield depicting the Southern Cross stars, three sailing vessels, a figure, a shell with sheaf, and crossed hammer and pick, surmounted by a St. Edward's Crown. Two silver fern fronds flank the shield on either side as supporters. The legend NIUE appears along the upper left arc of the field and the date 1987 along the upper right arc, both in raised Latin characters. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | NIUE 1987 |
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| Additional information |
Niue's 1987 collector series capitalized on Graf's extraordinary season — the year she won three of four Grand Slam titles and finished ranked world number one, a position she would hold for a record 377 weeks over her career. The island territory, a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand, had essentially no domestic coin circulation economy, making these issues purely revenue-generating instruments sold directly to the collector market.
KM#5 is one of several celebrity sports issues Niue produced in this period, a practice that drew some criticism from numismatic purists at the time.