NWA 5000 is an ordinary chondrite meteorite recovered from Northwest Africa in 2009 and subsequently classified as one of the most volumetrically significant single meteorite finds of that decade. Niue has built a consistent program of meteorite-embedded coinage, and this 2015 kilo issue incorporates an actual fragment of NWA 5000 set into the coin itself — making the provenance of the embedded material, not the silver, the primary collector consideration. Chondrites of this classification date to approximately 4.56 billion years, predating Earth's formation.
NWA 5000 is an ordinary chondrite meteorite recovered from Northwest Africa in 2009 and subsequently classified as one of the most volumetrically significant single meteorite finds of that decade. Niue has built a consistent program of meteorite-embedded coinage, and this 2015 kilo issue incorporates an actual fragment of NWA 5000 set into the coin itself — making the provenance of the embedded material, not the silver, the primary collector consideration. Chondrites of this classification date to approximately 4.56 billion years, predating Earth's formation.