The decline in population is both cause and effect of the island’s tough economic environment, and tourism helps ends meet. As in a lot of countries, the sale of postage stamps is an important source of funds—and so, as indicated by this 1989 5-dollar MacArthur commemorative—is the sale of non-circulating coins. And what sort of dollar are coins like this one denominated in? Niuean, I believe, despite New Zealand’s dollar being the island’s circulating currency.
This particular piece, though, is among the most locally meaningful of Niue’s proliferation of commemorative coins. Douglas MacArthur was a five-star American general who during and after WWII played some considerable role in manufacturing the subsequent history of all the peoples in the Pacific—Niueans among them.
One thing strikes me, looking at the five-star insignia on MacArthur’s collars. The five-star rank was both new and rare when MacArthur was promoted in 1944, and there were no five-star insignia available to him far out in the Pacific. To solve the problem, or so I’ve read, MacArthur had his staff file down silver Philippine 10-centavo pieces to make his new stars.
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