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What goes in to developing not one but THREE brand new portraits…
It’s surprising, in this new digital age, just how ‘hands-on’ designing a coin is. In fact, it’s very much the job of a master craftsman.
Never was this more evident than when the Isle of Man Treasury chose to mark the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Queen Victoria with three new coins, each with a brand new portrait.
The man they turned to was renowned sculptor Luigi Badia and here’s the remarkable process of how these coins were developed.
First Stage – Pencil designs
Like most products across all industries, designing a coin starts with pencil sketches. These are then amended, potentially many times, until a final sketch is produced and approved.
Second Stage – Plaster modelling
The second stage is arguably the most visually stunning. The sculptor, Luigi Badia in this case, will turn their sketches into a 3D ‘Plaster’ design. The skill involved in this process is really very impressive as every tiny detail must be modelled.
The plaster is far larger than the actual coin size to allow for this detail to be captured. The design will be resized in the next step of the process.
Third Stage – Digital Modelling
It’s during this stage where technology has certainly helped the design process. The 3D ‘Plaster’ designs are scanned and a digital file, called a greyscale, is created.
An engraving machine then uses this file to cut the design into a piece of steel that’s the actual size of the final coin. This will then be used to make the dies that will actually strike the coins.
Fourth Stage – Coin Striking
This final stage is when the physical coin comes to life. The specially prepared die is used to ‘strike’ the design onto a metal ‘blank’. The metal used for the blank can vary widely, from cupro-nickel to silver and gold.
Only once the mint is perfectly happy with the quality of the struck coins will they be issued.
The Queen Victoria Silver Antique £5 Set
This set is the only way to own all three of these stunning, specially commissioned Antique Silver £5 Coins.
Just 495 of these stunning sets are available worldwide and exclusive to The Westminster Collection.
You can secure yours today for a down payment of just £54 >>
Near Miss Day: A look at the coins making the biggest impact…
30 years ago today the Earth was NEARLY hit by an asteroid.
The asteroid named (4581 Asclepius) spanned an incredible 300 meters in width and came within a mere 500,000 miles of colliding with Earth! Unbeknownst to many at the time, a collision with a meteor this size would have caused cataclysmic destruction, with a 5 to 10 mile crater being formed if it had hit land and devastating tidal waves had it hit sea.
Now 30 years on from that all to close ‘near miss’ day, we take a look at some unique coins that feature genuine pieces of meteorite. They’ve fascinated both us and collectors so much, that it comes as no surprise that coins below have completely SOLD OUT.
Take a look here…
The Mars Meteorite Gold Proof Coin
SOLD OUT
The Tamdakht Strike Silver Coin
SOLD OUT
The Chondrite Meteorite Impact Silver Coin
SOLD OUT
The Chergach Meteorite Breakthrough Silver Coin
SOLD OUT
The Earth Meteorite Gold Proof Coin
SOLD OUT
A near miss 30 years ago, a direct hit with collectors now…
Following successive sell-outs, a new coin has been issued. The Erfoud Meteorite Strike Silver Coin is now available and already popular amongst collectors.
With a remarkable design of a meteorite puncturing the face of the coin, giving some perspective to the near miss 30 years ago, this truly unique coin features a genuine fragment of a Moroccan meteorite within the crater of the coin.
A simply stunning coin, the Erfoud Meteorite Silver Strike is without doubt, one of the finest examples of Smartminting technology with unprecedented levels of intricate detail and an extraordinary high relief.
However a very small number of only 2,500 have been issued worldwide which most certainly won’t satisfy demand. To compare, the Mars Meteorite Coin had a worldwide edition limit of just 5,000 which quickly sold out. Given this extraordinary issue’s edition limit is half, it is clear the Erfoud Meteorite Strike Silver Coin won’t be available for long.
What’s more, we have JUST 75 of these hugely sought-after Erfoud Meteorite Strike Silver coins available for collectors. Given the previous sell-outs of meteorite coins like this, you will have to move fast to secure one for collection. Don’t make this another near miss.
If you’re interested…
Click here to find out more about The Erfoud Meteorite Strike Silver Coin now >>
The longest bank holiday in British history…
In August 1914, the British economy was in turmoil because of the instability brought on by the oncoming war on the continent. Bankers and politicians were desperately looking for ways to secure Britain’s finances and prevent the banks from collapsing.
So to buy time to look for a solution, the government extended the national bank holiday on 3rd August to include Tuesday 4th, Wednesday 5th and Thursday 6th August – making this the longest bank holiday in British history!
The government decided that a large supply of banknotes had to be made available for the values of £1 and 10 shillings, making it easy for the public to make small transactions and to dissuade the hoarding of precious metal coins. However, The Bank of England was not able to prepare and print the required number of notes quickly enough, so the government took the unprecedented step of deciding to issue the notes itself.
These banknotes became known as the Treasury banknotes and were unlike anything the British public had ever seen. Until this point the lowest denomination banknote was £5, and in those days this was such a large sum that many people would never have seen or used a banknote before.
That means that these Treasury notes now stand out as the first widely circulated banknotes in England.
And what’s more, the Treasury notes featured a portrait of King George V. Nowadays we’re used to seeing Her Majesty on our banknotes, but the Treasury notes were the first British notes to feature a portrait of the monarch. In fact, Bank of England notes would not display an image of the monarch until 1960.
Treasury notes played a vital role in keeping the economy moving during the First World War and for the first time in England and Wales, paper money became normal currency used by ordinary people.
These notes were born out of Britain’s longest bank holiday and now stand as some of the most interesting banknotes in notaphily history!
If you’re interested…
Today you have the opportunity to own a FINE SILVER reproduction of the 3rd issue Treasury Note. Act now to secure this perfect banknote commemorative.
Click here to order your FINE SILVER reproduction Treasury Note now >>>