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Thursday 23 May 2019

1007) Niue Island: "The Seven Voyages of Sindbad the Sailor": The "1001 Arabian Nights Tales": The Second Coin in the Series features the Story of Sindbad the Sailor, on a Silver $2 Crown Coin issued by the New Zealand Mint on behalf of Niue Island in the South pacific: Issue Date: 05/2019:

1007) Niue Island: "The Seven Voyages of Sindbad the Sailor": The "1001 Arabian Nights Tales": The Second Coin in the Series features the Story of Sindbad the Sailor, on a Silver $2 Crown Coin issued by the New Zealand Mint on behalf of Niue Island in the South Pacific: Issue Date: 05/2019:

Links to posts on other Coins issued in the "1001 Arabian Nights Tales" Silver coin Series:

1) Niue Island: The "1001 Arabian Nights Tales": The First Coin in the Series features the story of "Alibaba and the 40 Thieves" on a Silver $2 Coin issued by the New Zealand Mint on behalf of Niue Island in the South Pacific: Issue Date: 29.03.2019

The Government and Treasury of Niue Island in the South Pacific have issued a new Silver $2 Crown Coin which is the second coin in an exciting coin series that features tales from the Arabic "The Thousand and One Arabian Nights" tales.

"The Thousand and One Nights" (also called "THe Arabian Nights and in Arabic "Alf Laylah was Laylah") is a collection of Middle Eastern and Indian stories, whose original authorship is obscured in the mists of time. Nevertheless, these tales fascinate the listener with fairy tales, romances, legends, fables, parables, anecdotes and exotic or realistic adventures.

The story originates in Central Asia or "the islands or peninsulae of India and China", where King Shahryar discovers that during his absences, his wife has been unfaithful and executes her and those with whom she has betrayed him. Then he becomes a misogynist and marries and executes new wife every day, until no woman is willing to marry him.

His "vizier" (minister) who has two daughters - Shahrazad (Scheherazade) and Dunyazad is told by the elder daughter that she has devised a plan to save herself and other women from meeting a deadly fate. She asked her father to get her married to the King.

After marriage, every evening, Shahrazad tells him a captivating story, which is so entertaining, that the king is so eager to hear the end, which she narrates only the next day, that he puts off her execution every day and finally abandons his plan to have her put to death/execute her.

Though the names of its chief characters are probably Iranian, the frame-story is Indian, with several names being Arabic. The tales span several countries in their range of origin - India, Iran, Iraq, China, Egypt, Turkey and Greece.

The first known reference to the "1001 Arabian Nights" is a 9th Century fragment. The next reference is from 947 AD by al-Mas'udi in an essay on a discussion of legendary stories from India, Iran and Greece titled "Hazaar Afsane" (meaning "A Thousand Tales").

In 987 AD, Ibn al-Nadim mentioned that Abu Abd Allah ibn Abdus al-Jahshiyari began a collection of 1000 popular Arabic, Iranian, Indian, Greek and other tales but he died when only 480 stories were written/compiled.

As such, the original title "One Thousand and One Tales" and "One Thousand and One Night", was intended only to convey that a large number of stories have been compiled/collated and was not to be taken literally. Much later, more stories were added to make up this number.

Several persons later worked on the compilation of the Tales, including from Egypt, and translations by Arthur Muller.

By the mid-twentieth Century, six successive forms/writings were identified -two 8th Century Arabic translations of the Persian "Hazar Afsane" (called "Alf Khurafah") and "Alf Laylah", a 9th Century version of Alf Laylah, but including other stories then known.

The 10th Century work by al-Jahshiyari, a 12th Century Collection including Egyptian Tales and a final version, extending to the 16th Century and consisting of the earlier material with the addition of stories of the Islamic Counter-Crusades and tales brought to the Middle East by the Mongols.

The ten Tales best known all over the world are - Shahryar and Scheherazade, Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves, The Seven Voyages of Sindbad the Sailor, Aladdin's Wonderful Lamp, The Three Apples, The Tale of The Hunchback, The Vizier and the Sage Duban, The Fisherman and the Djinni, The Lovers of Bassorah, The Three Princes and the Princess Nouronnihar also got added to the corpus.

In 1704 and 1717, the first European translation of the Tales which was also the first published edition was done by Antoine Galland as "Les Mille et Une Nuits, contes arabes traduits en francais" (12 volumes). His translation remained standard until the mid-19th Century, some portions even being re-translated into Arabic, the Arabic text being published at Calcutta (present day Kolkata).

French and English continuations, versions or editions of Galland later added more stories from oral traditions and manuscript sources.

Among the best-known 19th Century translations into English are of Richard Francis Bacon, who published translations from the Arabian Nights Tales in ten volumes in 1885, which he called "The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night". His addendum "Supplementary Nights" was published between 1886 and 1888 in six volumes.

The Second Coin in the Series features the story of the "Seven voyages of Sindbad the Sailor": The Story -  548th-554th  Days of Scheherazade's story telling in the Arabian Night Tales Collection:

The story/tale of Sindbad the Sailor comprises seven stories pertaining to his seven notable voyages. The Arabian Nights Tale frames these shorter stories by introducing Sindbad the Sailor, to Sindbad the Porter, whom the former tells his tales to.

The story begins with a tired and hungry Sindbad the Porter, who takes a break to rest on the bench outside a mansion. Sitting on the bench he complains to Allah (God) that it is not fair that some are so poor, while others enjoy luxuries. The owner of the house - Sindbad the Sailor hears this and reaches out to him. The Sailor tells the Porter that he was also poor once and that he became wealthy only by fate and destiny. He then begins the narrative of the seven voyages that made him wealthy "by Fortune and Fate".

The Sindbad story is set during the reign of the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid (786-809) of Baghdad.

The first voyage of Sindbad the Sailor (548th Day of Story telling): takes him to what appears to be an island, but in effect is a gigantic sleeping whale on which trees have taken root ever since the whale was young. Awakened by a fire kindled by the sailors, the whale dives into the depths of the Ocean, the ship departs without Sindbad, who is rescued by chance by climbing onto a wooden trough, which is washed ashore on a densely wooded island. Here he helssave the King's mare from being drowned by a sea-horse, )which is actually a supernatural horse that lives underwater). The King's men take Sindbad to the King, who appoints him to his court and Sindbad becomes a trusted minister.

One day, the very ship on which Sindbad had sailed docks on the island and he reclaims his goods, which are still in the ship's hold. Sindbad presents his goods to the King, who in turn showers lavish gifts/presents upon Sindbad. Sindbad sells these presents for a great profit and returns to Baghdad where he resumes a life of ease and pleasure.

Upon finishing his tale, Sindbad the Sailor gifts 100 gold mohurs/asharfis to Sindbad the Porter asking him to come back the next day to hear more about his adventures

The Second Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor (549th night of Story telling): Sindbad the sailor, having grown restless of his life of leisure, sets out to sea again to discover new places.

He is accidentally abandoned by his shipmates again and finds himself stranded on an island, which contains roc eggs. He attaches himself to a roc and is transported to a valley of giant snakes which can easily swallow elephants. These snakes serve as the Roc's natural prey. The floor of the valley is carpeted with diamonds and merchants/sailors harvest theseby throwing huge chunks of meat into the valley - the birds carry the meat back to their nests, and the men  drive the birds away and collect the diamonds stuck to the meat. 

The wily Sindbad straps one of the pieces of the meat to his back and is carried back to the nest along with a large sack full of precious gems. Rescued from the nest by the merchants, he returns to Baghdad with a fortune in diamonds, seeing many marvels along the way back.

The Third  Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor (550th day of story telling):

Sindbad sailed again a third time from Basra port. The sailors this time were cast upon an island where they were captured by a huge creature who was in the likeness of a man - black in colour, eyes like coals of fire and large canine teeth like a boar's tusks and a vast well-like mouth. He had long loose lips like a camel's hanging down upon his breast and ears which looked like two Jarms (an Arab tribe which lived in the Middle Ages) falling over his shoulder blades. The nails of his hands were like the claws of a lion. 

This monster began to devour the ship's crew, beginning with the captain who was the fattest.

Sindbad hatched a plan to blind the beast with two red-hot iron spits with which the monster was roasting the ship's company. Sindbad and the remaining men escaped on a raft they had constructed a day before. The giant's mate hit most of the escaping men with rocks, killing them. After further adventures, including a gigantic python, from which Sindbad escapes using his skills, he returned to Baghdad, with wealth accumulated along the voyage.

The Fourth Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor (551st day of story-telling):

The lure of the Sea brings Sindbad back to undertake his fourth voyage and in this voyage too, he is shipwrecked. He found himself among nakedsavages who feed his companions a herb which robs them of their reasoning, prior to fattening them for eating them.

Sindbad refused to eat  the madness inducing plant and managed to escape from the cannibals. A group of itinerant  pepper-gatherers transported him to their own island, where the King befriended him and gave him a beautiful and wealthy wife.

Too late, Sindbad realises that the island has a strange custom, in which, upon the death of one married partner, the other is buried alive with his or her spouse, both in their finest clothes and jewellery. Sindbad's wife fell ill and died soon after. Sindbad is buried with her in an underground cavern, which is a communal tomb, with a jug of water and seven pieces of bread. Just as these meagre rations are almost exhausted, another couple   - the husband dead and the wife alive - are dropped into the cavern. Sindbad bludgeons the wife to death and takes her rations.

After several such incidents, Sindbad has a sizeable store of bread and water, as well as gold and gems from the corpses and makes  good his escape when a wild animal which has entered the cavern, shows him the way out through a passage which took him high above the seas. A passing ship rescued him and carried him back to Baghdad, where he gives alms to the poor and resumed his life as a wealthy man.

The Fifth Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor (552nd night of story-telling):

Once again, the sea drew Sindbad for ne adventures and he embarked upon his fifth voyage.

While passing near a desert island, Sindbad's crew spotted a gigantic roc egg that Sindbad immediately recognised from his earlier voyage. Nevertheless, the ship's company disembarked on the island to have a closer look at the egg, only to break it and having the chick inside it as a meal. Recognising the crew's folly, Sindbad immediately ordered them back on board and began making their escape by sailing in a favourable wind, however the infuriated roc parents soon caught up with the fleeing vessel and began to destroy it by dropping giant boulders that their carried in their talons.

Shipwrecked again, Sindbad gets enslaved by the Old Man of the Sea, who rides on his shoulders with his legs twisted around Sindbad's neck and did not let him go, riding him both day and night.

Eventually, Sindbad made some wine and tricked the Old Man into drinking it. Sindbad then contrived to kill him, after the Old Man fell off and then escaped. A ship carried him to the City of the Apes, a  place whose inhabitants spend each night in boats off-shore, while their town is abandoned to man-eating apes. Through the Apes, Sindbad recoups his fotune and eventually finds a ship that takes him back to Baghdad.
The Sixth Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor (553rd night of story-telling):

On his sixth voyage on the seas, Sindbad's ship dashed to pieces on tall cliffs. With no food, the ship's surviving company began to die of starvation, until only Sindbad is left. 

Sindbad built a raft and discovered a river running out of a cavern beneath the cliffs. The stream  was full of precious stones. Sindbad fell asleep and his raft journeyed through the darkness and he awoke in the city of Serendib (Ceylon, present day Sri Lanka), where there were rivers full of pearls and there were diamonds in the valleys. The King of Serendib marvelled at Sindbad's tales of the great Haroun al-Rashid, and asked him to take a present back to Baghdad as from him to the Caliph. The present consisted of a cup carved from a single ruby, with other gifts. When Sindbad returned to Baghdad and presented these gifts to the Caliph, the Caliph listened in amazement to Sindbad's adventures and stories of Ceylon.

The Seventh Voyage of Sindbad the Sailor (554th day of story telling):

On his seventh voyage, Sindbad is once again cast upon a desolate shore and built a raft and floated down a nearby river to a great city. Here, the chief of the merchants weds Sindbad to his daughter, names him his heir and then dies. The inhabitants of the city are transformed once a month into birds and Sindbad has one of the bird people carry him high up in the sky, where he heard angels glorifying God. He joins in the singing of praises, but just then, a great fire comes down from heaven and consumes the "bird-men". The "bird-people" got very angry with Sindbad and set him down upon a hill-top, where he met two youths who are servants of God, who gave him a golden staff. Returning to the city, Sindbad learned from his wife that the bird-men were in fact devils, but her father & she were not members of this group. Sindbad then sold all his possessions and returned with her to Baghdad where he resolved never to travel by sea again.

The Coin:

The Coin is minted by the New Zealand Mint at their facilities in Auckland on behalf of the Treasury of Niue.


The Banner  titled "Legendary Tales - Sinbad the sailor - 1 Oz Silver coin". It shows the Reverse of the $2 Silver Coin depicting a shipwrecked Sindbad and the book style album in which the coin is housed
                         The Reverse of the $2 Silver Crown Coin

The Reverse of the Silver $2 Crown Coin is inspired by the tale of "The Seven Voyages of Sindbad the Sailor" and several images have been engraved to create a compilation showing Sindbad emerging from a cave on a raft, with only a pitcher of water and a piece of bread with him, reminiscent of his fourth voyage, waiting for a ship/vessel to carry him off to Baghdad. Before him lies a basket full of precious jewels/diamonds/stones. On the periphery is seen an intricate Arabic design, enhancing the beauty of the design. In the background is seen an elegant Arabic style architecture on a palace on a cliff-top. 


            The Obverse of the $2 Silver Crown Coin

The Obverse of the $2 Silver Crown Coin includes the new Crest/Emblem of the Government of Niue, which is being used for the first time in this Coin Series.

Above the Emblem on the upper periphery is the denomination of the Coin "TWO DOLLARS" and on the lower periphery is the year of issue "2019".

The specifications of this coin are:

Denomination: Two Dollars; Metal Composition: .999 Silver (Ag); Weight: 31.1 grams or 1 Troy Oz; Diameter/Size: 40.0 mm; Coin Quality: Proof with Antique Finish; Maximum Mintage: 3,000 pieces; Year of issue: 2019; Mint: New Zealand Mint on behalf of the Treasury of Niue Island.

The new Crest of Niue Island:

The Crown: A representation of Queen Elizabeth II as the Head of State of Niue, the Crown is placed atop a garland wreath.

Garland Wreath ("Kahoa-Fakahoa Motu"): A traditional Niuean design, the symbolism of the garland wreath in 14 segments represents the 14 villages comprising the island nation of Niue.

Central imagery: The outer ring represents Niue's custom of weaving and handicrafts. Traditional Niuean design is used to represent the binding of Niue to the rest of the world, with the world being represented by the circular shape of the design.

The inner ring incorporates the traditional Niuean design of the "lau niu/pola".

The triangles shown inside  the border of the ring represent the frequent use in traditional Niueanhiapo design, but also represent a jagged edge that refers to the "Rock of Polynesia".

Stylised Tree in the Centre: The representations are traditional Niuean designs that characterise growth and prosperity. The tree itself represents life and is inspired by the flora of Niue. The placement of the tree in the centre represents life on Niue, sustenance and the culture of Niue and its people.

The Coin comes in a book-style packaging in keeping with its Arabic theme. The Certificate of Authenticity (COA) is printed alongside the coin.











Links to posts on Australia, New Zealand and countries and Overseas Territories of the South Pacific on this Blog:


2) Papua New Guinea: An uncirculated coin set brought out in 1995 commemorating the 20th Anniversary of Independence 


 3) Currency & Coinage of the Solomon Islands: Dollars and Cents

4) New Zealand: New Banknote "Seventh Series" issued under Project "Brighter Money" from 2015 onwards

5) Coinage of the French Polynesian Island of Caledonia (or Nouvelle Caledonie) the CFP Franc  

6) French Institution for issuing uniform currency/coinage for French Overseas Territories in the Pacific and the French Southern Territories of Antarctica: The Institut d'emmission d'outre Mer (IEOM)

7) Currency & Coinage of Samoa: Tala and Sene 

8) Currency of the South Pacific Island Country of Fiji 

9) Coinage of New Zealand: A commemorative coin set issued in 1979 

10) Currency and Coinage of Australia: Dollars and Cents 

11) The Australian Emblem or the Coat of Arms 

12) The story of the Australian Penny 

13) The Legend of the Mutiny on the Bounty: A Commemorative Coin Set from the Pitcairn Islands depicting relics from the Bounty issued in 2009 

14) An Australian $5 coin issued in 1996, commemorating Australia's greatest cricketing legend - Sir Donald Bradman 

15) New Series/Generation of Australian Banknotes being introduced from 01.09.2016 onwards starting from $5 issues 

16) Southern Lights: A $1 Silver holographic coin issued by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in January 2017

17) Currency & coinage of the Kingdom of Tonga : Pa'anga & Seniti 

18) Postage Stamps & Coin: Commemorating the Centenary of the Trans-Australian Railway Line stamps issued by Australia Post & coins by Perth Mint on 04.07.2017


20) The Earth and Beyond Coin Series issued by the Royal Australian Mint (RAM): First coin in the series - The Earth - issued on 03.04.2018


21) Wedge Tailed Eagle Coin Series: 200 Dollars Gold, 100 Dollars Gold & 1 Dollar Silver coins brought out by the Perth Mint, Australia in its on-going series started in 2014 in collaboration with John Mercanti, Chief Engraver of the US Mint: Coins issued in 2018


22) Australian Kangaroo Coin Series: 25th Anniversary Commemoration: A $100 Gold Coin and a $10 Silver Coin with selective gold plating issued by the Royal Australian Mint (RAM) in 2018


23) "Kangaroo at Sunset": The Royal Australian Mint (RAM) is phasing out this iconic $25 Gold Coin from its repertoire of Commemorative Coins in 2018


24) "Discovery": An exclusive one piece - 2 Kilo Gold Coin studded with four Argyle Pink Diamonds/Gemstones minted by the Perth Mint, Australia in co-ordination with the Argyle Pink Diamonds Mine on 04.09.2018


25) "The Moon": The Earth and Beyond three Silver Coin Series: Royal Australian Mint issues the second coin in the series - a silver coloured Five (AUD) Dollars Concave-shaped (Domed) Coin on 03.09.2018


26) New $10 Australian Banknote issued on 18.09.2017 under the "Fourth Series of Banknotes": New generation of Australian Banknotes being introduced in a phased manner from 09/2016 onwards by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)

27) New Australian 50 Dollar Banknote (AUD $50) issued in 10/2018, under the "Fourth Series of Banknotes": New Generation of Australian Banknotes introduced in a phased manner from 09/2016 onwards by Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)


28) "Lake Argyle" - "The Jewel of the Kimberley", Australia: Limited Edition Series of Rare diamond ingots in Pink Gold (10 Oz. & 1 Oz.) and Platinum (1 Oz.) studded with eight Argyle Pink Diamonds each issued by the Perth Mint, Australia in collaboration with the Argyle Pink Diamond Mine (2018)


29) "The Sun": The Earth and Beyond Coin Series": Royal australian Mint (RAM) issues the third and final coin in the three-coin Series, a Silver Coloured Five (AUD) Dollars Concave-shaped (Domed) Coin on 03.02.2019


30) Australia New Generation $20 Banknote is scheduled to be released in October 2019, joining the already released Banknotes in the denominations of $5, $10 and $50 in the new Series

Links to interesting Posts on coins from Tuvalu Islands:
Links to posts on issues from the Republic of Palau:

2) Four Leaf Clover - Coin titled "Silver Fortune" - A 5 Dollars Silver coin issued by Coin Invest Trust in 2018


3) Totem Pole 2 Oz. or 10 Dollars Silver coin from the Republic of Palau being issued on 12.06.2018


4) The "Maneki Neko Cat" ot the "Fortune Cat" : A $1 Gold Coin issued by the Republic of Palau: Minted by B.H. Mayer's Kunstprageanstalt, Munich for Coin Invest Trust in 2018


Links to Posts on coin issues from Niue Islands:


1) Battle of Marathon: Battles that changed History Coin Series: A $2 Silver coin issued by the New Zealand Mint of behalf of Niue Islands in 2018


2) Sachin Tendulkar: "World's Greatest Batsman": Gold & Silver coins issued by the New Zealand Mint on behalf of Niue Islands in 2015


3) The Red Dragon, an issue from Niue Island: minted by the New Zealand Mint: "The Mythical Dragons of the World Coin Series": The first Silver 5 Dollars selectively coloured Coin in the Series features the "Red Dragon of Vortigern": Year of issue: 2019

4) "The Four Dragons", Niue Island: Minted by the New Zealand Mint: The "Mythical Dragons of the World Coin Series": The second Silver 5 Dollars Selectively Coloured Coin in the Series features the Four Dragons: the Long Dragon, the Yellow Dragon, the Black Dragon and the Pearl Dragon: Year of issue: 2019

5) The "1001 Arabian Nights Tales": First $2 Silver crown Coin coin in the Series depicts the "story of Ali Baba and the 40 thieves": Coin issue date: 29.03.2019

6) Niue Island: "The Seven Voyages of Sindbad the Sailor": The "1001 Arabian Nights Tales": The Second Coin in the Series features the story of Sindbadthe Sailor, on a $2 Silver Crown Coin issued by the New Zealand Mint on behalf of Niue Island in the South Pacific: Issue date: 05/2019

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