2022 - Niue 1 NZD Silver Coin The Jungle Book - Bear Baloo and Black Panther Bagheera - Proof

The Jungle Book

The second silver coin from the Czech Mint's four-part miniseries inspired by Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book features Baloo the Bear and Bagheera the Black Panther.

A boy named Mowgli grows up among wolves, but his path to becoming a member of the pack was not an easy one. At first the wolves considered throwing the orphaned human cub to a tiger, but thanks to Baloo and Bagheera they eventually accepted him into their midst... Baloo is an old and perpetually sleepy brown bear who feeds on honey and roots. He teaches the little wolf cubs the harsh but fair laws that every jungle dweller must know and respect. Mowgli may not be an obedient student, but the kind and generous teacher gets to like him... Bagheera is the black panther who redeems Mowgli's life by killing a bull. The cunning and fierce hunter gets on well with the boy he protects devotedly, because he was born into captivity and so knows not only the jungle but also the human world …

The medal maker Asamat Baltaev, DiS., who designed the coin, dedicated its reverse side to Mowgli's education. A seated bear teaches a little boy a lesson, while a panther resting on a branch observes. The composition is supplemented with the English inscription BALOO AND BAGHEERA. The obverse side of the coin then presents an Indian jungle full of unruly monkeys. As the coins of the Czech Mint are issued with the foreign licence of the island of Niue, their obverse side bears the name and portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, the nominal value of 1 DOLLAR (NZD) and the year of issue 2022.