Mickey Mouse joins Queen on legal tender coins on Pacific island of Niue

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The Pacific island nation of Niue will be introducing a new version of their dollar coin that will feature Mickey Mouse on one side and Queen Elizabeth on the other.

The newly-minted coins are being created to raise revenue, because the island will receive a royalty payment every time one of the Mickey Mouse coins is sold to a collector. The editions will be worth $6m Australian dollars (£3.3m) over the next ten years.

Niue is a small self-governing state associated with New Zealand, and Queen Elizabeth is the Island’s monarch. The island struck a deal with New Zealand to make collectors editions of their currency. It is not the first time the island has featured popular fictional characters on their coins – in 2011 Niue introduced a range to celebrate the Star Wars films, ABC Radio Australia reports.

The island’s premier Toke Talagi told the radio station that the coins would raise the Islands profile. Tourism is becoming more popular and the island hopes to increase visitors. The tiny island's population has been in decline since the 1960s and now has a population of around 1,600.