1780) Zorro (a Masked Vigilante), Niue Island: A fictional character created by Johnston McCulley (American Pulp Fiction writer): A $5 Silver Coin minted by the Mint of Poland on behalf of Niue Island: Year of Coin issue: 2021:
Zorro (Spanish for 'Fox') is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley, and appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California.
He is typically portrayed as a dashing masked vigilante who defends the commoners and indigenous peoples of California against corrupt and tyrannical officials and other villains. His signature all-black costume includes a cape, a hat known as a sombrero cordobés, and a mask covering the upper half of his face.
In the stories, Zorro has a high bounty on his head, but is too skilled and cunning for the bumbling authorities to catch, and he also delights in publicly humiliating them. Because of this, the townspeople started calling him "El Zorro" due to his foxlike cunning and charm.
Zorro is an acrobat and an expert in various weapons, but the one he employs most frequently is his rapier, which he uses often to carve the initial "Z" on his defeated foes, and other objects to "sign his work". He is also an accomplished rider, his trusty steed being a black horse called Tornado.
Zorro is the secret identity of Don Diego de la Vega (originally Don Diego Vega), a young man who is the only son of Don Alejandro de la Vega, the richest landowner in California, while Diego's mother is dead.
In most versions, Diego learned his swordsmanship while at university in Spain, and created his masked alter ego after he was unexpectedly summoned home by his father because California had fallen into the hands of an oppressive dictator.
Diego is usually shown living with his father in a huge hacienda, which contains a number of secret passages and tunnels, leading to a secret cave sometimes called "the Fox Den" that serves as headquarters for Zorro's operations and as Tornado's hiding place. In order to divert suspicion about his identity, Diego hides his fighting abilities while also pretending to be a coward and a fop.
Zorro made his debut in the 1919 novel The Curse of Capistrano, originally meant as a stand-alone story. However, the success of the 1920 film adaptation made him popular the world over.
The Mark of Zorro starring Douglas Fairbanks convinced McCulley to write more Zorro stories for about four decades: the character was featured in a total of five serialized stories and 57 short stories, the last one appearing in print posthumously in 1959, the year after his death.
The Curse of Capistrano eventually sold more than 50 million copies, becoming one of the best-selling books of all time.
While the rest of McCulley's Zorro stories did not enjoy the same popularity, as most of them were never reprinted until the 21st century, the character also appears in over 40 films and in ten TV series, the most famous being the Disney-produced Zorro series of 1957–1959, starring Guy Williams.
Other media featuring Zorro include stories by other authors, audio/radio dramas, comic books and strips, stage productions and video games.
Being one of the earliest examples of a fictional masked avenger with a double identity, Zorro inspired the creation of several similar characters in pulp magazines and other media, and is a precursor of the superheroes of American comic books, with Batman drawing particularly close parallels to the character.
The Coin:
The Reverse of the $5 (Five Dollars) Silver Coin shows "Zorro" on his trusted horse "Tornado" with his sword raised as a Vigilante crime-fighter in the Californian desert outback, with cactii, tall grass and rocks featuring on this face.
Behind him is seen the figure "Z" symbolising the Mark of Zorro.
The Obverse of the $5 (Five Dollars) Silver Coin shows an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II facing right, designed by Ian Rank-Broadley, whose initials "IRB" appear below the Queen's neck.
The peripheral inscriptions are - "ELIZABETH II. NIUE ISLAND. 5 DOLLARS. 2021".
In front of the Queen's effigy is seen the mint mark of the Mint of Poland and the metal composition of the coin -" Ag 999".
The specifications of this Coin are:
Country of issue: Niue Island; Year: 2021; Denomination/Face Value: $5 (Five Dollars); Metal Composition: .999 Fineness Silver (Ag); Weight: 2.0 Oz or 62.214 grams; Diameter/Size: 45.0 mm; Coin Quality: Antique Finish; Mint: Mint of Poland; Mintage: 500 pieces; Presentation Box/Case: Yes; Certificate of Authenticity (COA): Yes.
Links to interesting posts from the South Pacific Island of Fiji:
Links to posts on Australia, New Zealand and Countries and Overseas Territories of the South Pacific etc on this Blog:
Links to interesting Posts on coins from Tuvalu Islands:
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2)Famous Pirates of the Caribbean: 3)Bartholomew Roberts or Black Bart Roberts
3)Famous Pirates of the Caribbean:4)Jack Rackham
4)Famous-pirates-of- the Caribbean : 5) Henry Avery
5)Famous Pirates of the Caribbean : 6) Sir Henry Morgan
6)Norse Goddess Freya - a Silver 2 Dollars High Relief antiquated Coin , the first in the Series titled "Norse Goddesses" (2017)
Link to Posts from Tokelau:
2) 150th Anniversary of "The Great Tea Race - 1866": Commemorative Coins in the denomination of 10 and 2 Dollars issued by Cook Islands in 2016
3) The Mystical Ancient Egyptian Labyrinth depicted on $10 Silver coins issued by Cook islands in 2016, under its "Milestones of Mankind Series".
4) King Arthur: The first coin in the six coins "Camelot Series".
5) Quilling Art: Silver 2 Dollars coins issued - Flowers (2016) & Bird (2017)
5) "Tree of Life", Palau: First Coin in a new Coin Series titled "Dot Art" features "Pointillism", an Art Technique of the 1800s: A Silver Black Proof $20 Coin minted with Smartminting Technology, coordinated by Numiscollect: Date of Coin issue: 05/2020
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Links to Posts on coin issues from Niue Islands:
Links to posts on Coin issues from Solomon Islands:
2) 150th Anniversary of "The Great Tea Race - 1866": Commemorative Coins in the denomination of 10 and 2 Dollars issued by Cook Islands in 2016
3) The Mystical Ancient Egyptian Labyrinth depicted on $10 Silver coins issued by Cook islands in 2016, under its "Milestones of Mankind Series".
4) King Arthur: The first coin in the six coins "Camelot Series".
5) Quilling Art: Silver 2 Dollars coins issued - Flowers (2016) & Bird (2017)
24) Arowana Dragon Fish, Republic of Palau: A Silver $10 (Dollars) Coin brought out by Coin Invest Trust (CIT) for the Republic of Palau, minted by B.H. Mayer's Kunstprageanstalt, Munich: Issue year: 2019
30) "Blue Skies and Tail Winds", Cook Islands: A 10 Dollars Silver Black Proof Coin coordinated by the Coin Invest Trust (CIT) and minted by B.H. Mayer's Kunstprageanstalt at their facitity in Munich, Germany: Year: 2020
31) 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
32) "Great White Shark", Republic of Palau: A $5 (5 Dollars) Silver Proof Coin issued by Coin Invest Trust (CIT), minted by B.H. Mayer's Kunstprageanstalt GmbH on behalf of Palau: Year of Coin issue: 2020 (with Year of issue inscribed as 2021)
2) "Aconcagua", Argentina: 25 Dollars High Relief Silver Coin - The Third Coin in the "7-Summits Coin Series" issued by the Cook Islands in co-ordination with Coin Invest Trust (CIT) and minted by B.H. Mayer's Kunstprageanstalt GmbH issued in November 2018
3) Mount Kilimanjaro: 25 Dollar Silver High Relief Coin: The fourth coin in the 7-Summits Coin Series issued by the Cook Islands in co-ordination with Coin Invest Trust (CIT) and minted by B.H. Mayer's Kunstprageanstalt GmbH issued in 08/2019
Links:
1) Caves of Slovak Karst in Slovakia: A World Natural Heritage UNESCO Site: A Gold Coin of 100 Euros issued under the "World Natural Heritage" Series by the National Bank odf Slovakia, minted by the Kremnica Mint on 15.11.2017
2) Slovak National Theatre, Slovakia: Centenary Celebrations (1920-2020): A 10 Euro Silver Coin issued by the National Bank of Slovenia, minted by the Kremnica Mint: Year of issue: 2020
7) Michelangelo's "Pieta", Vatican City: New Copper Coin Series titled "Art and Faithy": A 10 Euro Copper Coin minted by the "Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca Dello Stato" (IPZS) on behalf of the "Ufficio Filatelico e Numismatico Governatorato della Cotta del Vaticano": Coin issue date: 05.03.2020
8) Ancient Postal Routes, Vatican City State: EUROPA 2020 Theme: Two stamps of 1.10 Euro and 1.15 Euro issued by the Ufficio filatelico e Numismatico -Governatorato, Vaticano featuring Ancient Postal Routes emanating from the Vatican City State during the 6th & 11th Centuries AD
Santosh Khanna has commented:
ReplyDelete"Very informative post".
Thank you, Khanna sahab.
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