Новости нумизматики и коллекционирования

On 4 August 2014, the National Bank of Romania will put into circulation, for numismatic purposes, a silver coin dedicated to the anniversary of 150 years since the birth of Elena Văcărescu.

Obverse: the mansion in Văcărești where Elena Văcărescu spent her childhood years, the year of issue “2014”, the coat of arms of Romania, the face value “10 LEI” and the inscription “ROMANIA” in an arc.

Reverse: the portrait, the name, the signature and the year of birth of Elena Văcărescu.

Royal Canadian Mint unveiled the second of four bullion coins from its biannual Canadian Birds of Prey series.

The second of four coins in the biannual "Birds of Prey" series, the Bald Eagle glides across the sky and brings this bulwark of strength and grace to life. The reverse of the coin features a design by Canada artist Emily Damstra of a Bald Eagle or Haliaeetus leucocephalus in flight as it returns victorious with a fish in its talons.

A true apex predator with no natural enemies as an adult, the majestic bald eagle has long been the embodiment of power, wisdom and calmness. The bald eagle is not actually bald on its head, but rather has white feathers and was named after an older meaning of bald which more closely resembled "white-headed". The adult has a wingspan over 2 metres, weighs about 7 kilograms and has a standing height of about 1 metre. The females are noticeably larger than the males, up to about 25% and both are imposing predators that dominate their habitats. Bald Eagles make one of the largest nests of any bird, sometimes as much as 4 metres deep and 2.5 metres across and they can weigh up to a ton. Young bald eagles are different in plumage than mature adults and typically have light brown feathers around their head, rather than white. These rugged and majestic predators have been used as symbols by many cultures, from ancient American civilizations to the United States for whom it is their national symbol.

The obverse features the Susanna Blunt effigy of Queen Elizabeth II and the words "Elizabeth II 5 Dollars 2014".

The reverse features an adult bald eagle viewed from the left in full flight with a fish in its talons. Its wings are spread and the eagle fills nearly the entire centre of the coin. It is surrounded by the words 'Canada Fine Silver 1 oz Argent Pur 9999" and the artist's initials.

On August 20, 2014 the Central Bank of the Russian Federation issues commemorative coins of the series «Judo».

The obverse: a relief image of the Emblem of the Bank of Russia — a two-headed eagle with wings down, and a semicircular inscription under it «БАНК РОССИИ» (BANK OF RUSSIA), framed with a circle of beads. Inscriptions along the rim divided by dots indicate the denomination of the coins «СТО РУБЛЕЙ» (ONE HUNDRED ROUBLES), «ДВЕСТИ РУБЛЕЙ» (TWO HUNDRED ROUBLES), «ОДНА ТЫСЯЧА РУБЛЕЙ» (ONE THOUSAND ROUBLES), «ДЕСЯТЬ ТЫСЯЧ РУБЛЕЙ» (TEN THOUSAND ROUBLES) respectively and the year of issue «2014», between them there is an indication of the metal according to the D.I. Mendeleyev Periodic System of Elements, purity, trade mark of the Saint Petersburg mint and fine precious metal content.

On the obverse side of the gold proof-like coin in the lower part of it next to the fine precious metal content indication there is an ordinal number of the coin with indication of the sign «№__».

The reverse side:

• of the silver proof-like coin bears relief images of a portrait of a judo coach V.M. Andreev, two pairs of judo sportsmen, an oriental style cherry tree branch and an emblem of the Russian judo federation overhead on the right and the USSR judo federation badge at the bottom on the left, both implemented in colour. There are inscriptions — «ДЗЮДО» (JUDO) on top, «ДЗЮ-ДО» (JU-DO) at the bottom on the left and «ДЗЮДО» (JUDO) in Japanese on the right;
• of the gold proof coin in denomination of 200 Roubles depicts relief images of the Kodokan Institute emblem and an oriental style cherry tree branch against the background of a traditional Japanese ornament. There are inscriptions on the left — «ДЗЮДО» (JUDO) and «ДЗЮДО» (JUDO) in Japanese;
• of the gold proof coin in denomination of 1000 Roubles bears relief images of a portrait of the Russian judo school founder V.S. Oschepkov and an oriental style cherry tree branch overhead on the left, a part of the newspaper «Physical Culture and Sport» sheet on the right, a militiaman detaining a criminal at the bottom. There are inscriptions — «ДЗЮУ ДО» (JUU DO) on the left and «ДЗЮДО» (JUDO) in Japanese on top;
• of the gold proof-like coin depicts relief images of a portrait of the judo founder Dzigoro Kano overhead on the left, there are traditional Japanese martial arts print images in the centre, on top, at the bottom and on the right, the Kodokan Institute emblem on the left, an oriental style cherry tree branch on the right. There are inscriptions on the left — «ДЗЮДО» (JUDO) and «ДЗЮДО» (JUDO) in Japanese.

On August 15, 2014 the Central Bank of the Russian Federation issues commemorative coins of precious metals: a silver proof coin in denomination of 3 Roubles and a gold proof coin in denomination of 50 Roublesb of the series «Judo World Championship, Chelyabinsk».

The obverse: a relief image of the Emblem of the Bank of Russia — a two-headed eagle with wings down, and a semicircular inscription under it «БАНК РОССИИ» (BANK OF RUSSIA), framed with a circle of beads. Inscriptions along the rim divided by dots indicate the denomination of the coins «ТРИ РУБЛЯ» (THREE ROUBLES), «ПЯТЬДЕСЯТ РУБЛЕЙ» (FIFTY ROUBLES) respectively and the year of issue «2014», between them there is an indication of the metal according to D.I. Mendeleyev Periodic System of Elements, purity, trade mark of the Moscow mint and fine precious metal content.

The reverse side:

• of the silver proof coin bears relief images of two judo sportsmen and an oriental style cherry tree branch to the left of them. There are inscriptions — «ЧЕМПИОНАТ МИРА ПО ДЗЮДО» (JUDO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP) along the circumference on top, «ЧЕЛЯБИНСК» (CHELYABINSK) to the left of the sportsmen and «2014» to the right of them;

• of the gold proof coin depicts relief images of two judo sportsmen and an oriental style cherry tree branch to the right of them. There are inscriptions along the circumference — «ЧЕМПИОНАТ МИРА ПО ДЗЮДО» (JUDO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP) on top, «ЧЕЛЯБИНСК» (CHELYABINSK) and «2014» at the bottom.

On August 29, 2014 the Central Bank of the Russian Federation issues commemorative coins of 5 Roubles — «The Battle of Moscow», «The Battle of Stalingrad» and «The Battle of the Caucasus» of the series «The 70th Anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945».

The obverse: in the center of the disc there is an indication of the face value of the coins «5 РУБЛЕЙ» (5 ROUBLES) in two lines. There is an inscription below «БАНК РОССИИ» (BANK OF RUSSIA) and the year of issue «2014» under it. On the left and on the right there is a stylized image of a plant branch. In the right part of the disc there is a trademark of a mint.

The reverse side:

• of the first coin has a relief image of the Monument to the defenders of Moscow. There are inscriptions along the circumference — «БИТВА ПОД МОСКВОЙ» (THE BATTLE OF MOSCOW) and «ВЕЛИКАЯ ОТЕЧЕСТВЕННАЯ ВОЙНА 1941-1945 ГГ.» (THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR OF 1941-1945)divided by two stars;
• of the second coin has a relief image of a part of the memorial to the «Heroes of the Battle of Stalingrad» on Mamaev Kurgan in Volgograd. There are inscriptions along the circumference — «СТАЛИНГРАДСКАЯ БИТВА» (THE BATTLE OF STALINGRAD) and «ВЕЛИКАЯ ОТЕЧЕСТВЕННАЯ ВОЙНА1941-1945 ГГ.» (THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR OF 1941-1945) divided by two stars;
• of the third coin has a relief image of the Monument to the defenders of Elkhotovo gates in the village of Elkhotovo. There are inscriptions along the circumference — «БИТВА ЗА КАВКАЗ» (THE BATTLE OF THE CAUCASUS) and «ВЕЛИКАЯ ОТЕЧЕСТВЕННАЯ ВОЙНА 1941-1945 ГГ.» (THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR OF 1941-1945) divided by two stars.

Coins in denomination of 5 Roubles are 25.0 mm in diameter, white in colour and have the rim raised on both sides of the coins along the circumference. The edge of the coins is corrugated.

Crimson Rosella is the 1st issue of the brand new collectible 3D coins of “World Of Parrots” Series. 3D wings - unique Crimson Rosella design.

A groundbreaking legal tender coin, created with a stunning new 3D minting technique, the 2014 $5 Crimson Rosella ‘3D Wings’ Silver Proof forms a truly spectacular tribute to one of Australia’s most flamboyant native species. An amazing visual effect, the Rosella’s brilliantly coloured wings actually soar above the surface of the coin, just as this famous Australian parrot soars above the lush Australian landscape!

A masterwork of detail and perspective, capturing the Rosella’s vibrant cornucopia of colours, this eye-catching Aussie icon is the perfect subject for such a spellbinding, highly original minting technique.

The fourth and final gold coin in the Royal Canadian Mint's exciting 2014 O Canada series featuring iconic images celebrating all that makes Canada unique! 

The North American continent's heaviest land animal is Bison bison, known commonly as the American bison. For millennia, the American bison and its ancestor dominated much of central North America, from what is now Alaska, down through the Canadian prairies and American Midwest, as far south as central Mexico and as far east as near the Appalachians of the United States. In the tens of millions, they wandered along ancient feeding routes so well worn that they are still visible from the air today. Many of these routes, particularly in the United States, were eventually used as wagon trails and, later, for railway beds. By the end of the nineteenth century, though, over-hunting and large-scale exterminations by European settlers had reduced bison numbers from more than 60 million to only a few hundred. Concerted conservation efforts throughout the twentieth century helped to bring the numbers of wild bison up in both Canada and the United States. In total, there are estimated to be about 30,000 non-domesticated bison in Canada and the United States today and several hundred thousand raised on ranches.

Coin displays a full-body profile portrait of a bison in its natural habitat. Viewed from its right side with its head and hindquarters arched toward the viewer, a massive American bison bull stands with one hind leg raised in mid-stride. Its shaggy beard, blunt nose, small eye, and upturned horns are presented to stunning effect through the masterful use of varied finishes and engraving. The powerfully muscled, hunched back and fur-lined forelimbs give way to a low sloped hind section ending in a short fringed tail. On the bison's abdomen we see scars from ancient battles with other bulls and perhaps predators like wolves. The dust seems to rise from beneath the bulky mass of the plains giant as its feet stir the scraggly open grassland.

Niue presented two new issues depicting aureus on reverses. Aureus – a gold coin of ancient Rome, worth 25 silver denarii.

Obverse: In the centre effigy of the Queen Elizabeth II. Around the coin inscriptions: “ELIZABETH II”, “NIUE”, “ONE DOLLAR”, “15,5g” (weight of the coin), “2014″and the hallmark “Ag999,9″.

The coin Aureus Taurus is presenting an ancient and modern symbol of a bull.

Reverse: At the bottom a replica of a coin from ancient Rome, minted in Octavian August period. On the obverse of the ancient coin a profile of Octavian August, on the reverse of the ancient coin a charging bull – a symbol of victorious Octavian’s legions. On the top of the coin a bull as a symbol of a bull market. On the background the elements connected with stock exchange. Inscription (a Latin phrase): “Crede quod habes, et habes” (“Believe that you have it, and you do”).

A unique coin Aureus Venus presenting ancient and modern image of goddess of love – Venus.

Reverse: The bottom of the coin reverse a replica of a gold coin from ancient Rome. On the obverse of the ancient coin a profile of Faustina the Younger (Annia Galeria Faustina Minor) ( 122 – 175) a daughter of the emperor Antoninus Pius, wife of the emperor Marc Antony (Marcus Aurelius Antoninus). On the reverse an ancient depiction of Venus goddess holding an apple (a gift from Paris (also known as Alexander) to the most beauty) and a helm. On the top of the coin modern depiction of the goddess Venus and inscription: “Amor vincit omnia” (“Love conquers all things”).

Showcasing the Year of the Horse in 1/2oz of 99.9% pure silver, the 2014 Chinese Astrological Series is an exceptional offering from The Perth Mint.

Each coin features a coloured caricature of a horse and the Chinese character for either ‘Fu, ‘Lu’ and ‘Shou’, meaning ‘Prosperity, ‘Success’ and ‘Longevity’ respectively.

Available individually, the Year of the Horse ‘Prosperity’ coin features a horse trotting and flying a kite marked with the Chinese character ‘Fu’.

Each coin is issued as legal tender under the authority of the Government of Tuvalu and features the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the 2014 year-date, and the monetary denomination on the obverse.

Each three-coin set is housed in classic red display case, beautifully illustrated shipper, and is accompanied by a numbered Certificate of Authenticity.

The Christmas tree custom does not have a proven date of origin. However, it is presumed that approximately 500 years ago a tree was decorated in the Christmas season for the first time.

In 1982 a Christmas tree was erected on St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican for the first time. It is regarded as a symbol of hope, vitality and loyalty.