2020-04-09 Thu

On 7th April 2020, the government and treasury of Niue launched a new series of ingot-shaped proof and colour coins which feature the four primary archangels.

The word “archangel” itself is derived from two Greek words – the first “arche” is used to mean “ruler” and the second “Angelos” defines “messenger.” Archangels have two significant duties. The first is to rule over the other angels, and the second is to deliver messages from God to human beings. The four primary archangels are Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. In the New Testament, Gabriel is the bringer of happy news. In particular, he delivered God’s message to the Virgin Mary that she was with child and that the child should be known as Jesus.

The coins are produced by the New Zealand Mint at their facilities in Auckland, on behalf of the Treasury of Niue. The obverse features an effigy of HM Queen Elizabeth II created by Ian Rank-Broadley with border engraving to match the reverse. The denomination of 2 DOLLARS is shown below the Queen’s likeness. The reverse of the coin shows a colored image of the archangel Gabriel, which is based on a stained glass image from a 1920 stained-glass window created by artist Mary Hutchinson.

Image Courtesy: Treasury of Niue