2018 Gold Proof Standing Britannia Niue Island Trade Dollar - East India Company

The 2018 Gold Proof Standing Britannia Niue Island Trade Dollar.

This gold proof Niue Island trade dollar is part of the East India Company's five-coin "Trade Dollar Collection" and has been given the face value of $250.

This coin different from the other 2018 Niue Gold Proof Trade Dollar as it has an image of a standing Lady Britannia.

This is one of only 200 coins issued.

British Trade Dollar

Following the opening up of trade in China in the wake of the Opium Wars, European and American merchants had flocked to China to purchase Chinese goods. However, Chinese merchants preferred to trade in silver specie in the form of dollars, making silver trade dollar coins very much in demand in the Orient.

In spite of this, Britain was quite late in introducing its own silver dollars, struck in Bombay and Calcutta in India, intended for use as trade. Having previously relied on silver dollars from other countries, the British Trade Dollar, featuring a standing Britannia on the obverse, was intended to reduce the reliance of the Straits Settlements and Hong Kong Colonies on foreign coins (later, in 1904, the Straits Settlements got their own dollar coin, containing slightly less silver intended for local circulation). The British Trade Dollar thereafter primarily supplied transactions between Hong Kong and mainland China. The coin was struck in 0.900 fine silver.

Silver Trade Dollars Banned 

In 1934, The Nationalist Chinese Government had recalled all silver coin issues for melting down and the following year, banned the private ownership of silver. Consequently, most 1934 issues were melted down, and only a handful of 1935 issues were struck.

The obverse features Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II. The image is surrounded by a Chinese scroll pattern border and features the inscription:

QUEEN ELIZABETH II · NIUE ISLAND · 250 DOLLARS · 2018 ·

The reverse, a replica of George William de Saulles' engraving, shows the standing Lady Britannia holding her shield and trident. The Chinese scroll pattern surrounds the image and bears the inscription:

THE EAST INDIA COMPANY · TRADE DOLLAR ·