Новости нумизматики и коллекционирования

It’s likely that most coin collectors are unfamiliar with the output of the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato and that’s a shame. They’ve produced some great Euro coins over the years and these are their latest two, both part of the Arts of Italy series. This series has been going since 2010 and comprises the release of a 5€ and a 10€ silver coin each year. This years pair continue the trend and both are limited to 7,000 pieces, sold individually.

They’re quite attractive pieces and should certainly appeal to those who like fine art on coins, especially those not coated in multiple layers of paint, gilding or crystals.

Within the successful series Italy of the Arts a 5 euro silver proof coin will feature this year Selinunte, an archaeological site on the south coast of Sicily, One of the most important among the Greek colonies in Sicily, it was finally destroyed by the Carthaginians during the First Punic War in 250 before Christ.

Of the several collapsed temples, only the Temple of Hera, also known as “Temple E”, was reconstructed in the 20th century, and it is represented on the obverse of the coin, while on the reverse is depicted a sculpture decoration with the myth of Perseus and the Medusa.

Country: Italy
Year: November 6, 2013
Face value: 5 Euro
Metal: Silver .999
Weight: 18 g
Size: 32 mm
Quality: Proof
Mintage: 7 000 pcs
Design: Annalisa Masini

The 10 euro proof coin Italy of Arts is dedicated to a completely different masterpiece of the Italian artistic heritage.

From the sunny Sicilian seaside we utterly change the scenery going to the most northern region in Italy, the Aosta Valley, celebrated for its magnificent mountains and for its beautiful castles. And the Fénis Castle is represented on the obverse of the coin while on the reverse is portrayed St. George and the Dragon, a decoration taken from the castle.

Country: Italy
Year: October 30, 2013
Face value: 10 Euro
Metal: Silver .999
Weight: 22 g
Size: 34 mm
Quality: Proof
Mintage: 7 000 pcs

The Mint of Poland is jubilant to announce the release of the spellbinding 'Chimney Sweep' coin – a symbol of luck enchanted in a silver coin blank, which from today could be your most cherished talisman.

The chimney-sweep is said to be a lucky omen, which brings good fortune. According to belief a ladder of a chimney-sweep links Heaven with Earth, and is a pathway to prosperity and welfare. The 9 symbols of luck immortalized in silver coins are the perfect gifts, which attract happiness, wealth, love and joy. The coins of the series combine modernity, innovation and the highest craftsmanship, which will satisfy the most demanding coin collectors.

Reverse: In the central part of the coin – an image of a chimney sweep. On the right – a capsule containing a 24-carat gold-plated filigree insert. In the background – a stylized surface emblazoned with decorative motifs. Along the rim – an inscription: GOOD LUCK.

Obverse: In the central part of the coin – a capsule containing a 24-carat gold-plated filigree insert. On the right – an image of a chimney sweep. In the background – a stylized surface. Above –  a profile portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Along the rim – inscriptions: NIUE ISLAND (the issuer), ELIZABETH II, 1 DOLLAR (the face value), 2014 (the year of issue).

Country: Niue Island
Year: November 2013
Face value: 1 Dollars
Metal: Silver .999
Weight: 14,14 g
Size: 32 mm
Quality: Proof
Mintage: up to 3 333 pcs

The next coin of the series: 'Angel'.

National Bank of the Republic of Belarus released on November 29, 2013 memorable coins 'Aries. 2013 and 'Taurus. 2013' in the series 'Signs of the Zodiac. 2013'.

Each coin comes encapsulated in a stylish cardboard keeper and with a Certificate of Authenticity from the Mint of Poland.

The obverse has: at the top — the relief image of the State Coat of Arms of the Republic of Belarus; in the center — the fragment of an engraving published in ‘Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae’, the work on interaction between celestial bodies by the German scholar A. Kircher; in the right side — the alloy standard and the trademark of the Mint of Poland PLC underneath; and circumferential inscriptions: at the top — РЭСПУБЛİКА БЕЛАРУСЬ (THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS) and at the bottom — the denomination: 20 РУБЛЁЎ (20 RUBLES) and the year of issue.

The reverse has: in the center — the relief gold-plated picture of the stylized Aries or Taurus against the stylized representation of the clock on the clock tower in St Mark’s Square in Venice and the circumferential inscription — ARIES or TAURUS; beneath — the insert: a transparent capsule containing a movable silver filigree in the shape of a aries or taurus plated with gold.

Country: Republic of Belarus
Year: November 29, 2013
Face value: 20 Roubles
Metal: Silver .925
Weight: 28,28 g
Size: 41 mm
Quality: Proof
Mintage: up to 10 000 pcs

The Bank of Greece has issued (2^nd December) two new coins which honor the man who is universally acknowledged as the father of western medicine. Hippocrates of Cos (460–377 B.C.) is remembered as the physician who based the art of healing on rational principles and liberating it from divine intervention and/or superstition. He perceived the human being as a whole entity, and health as resulting from multiple factors, including environmental and dietary ones. The Hippocratic Corpus, a collection of works left by Hippocrates and his students, deals with practically all branches of medicine and systematically records clinical symptoms and treatments, always in line with the principle «to do good, or to do no harm». The Hippocratic Oath remains — all over the world as the guide to medical ethics and practice to this day.

Historians agree that Hippocrates was born around the year 460 BC on the Greek island of Cos to his father Heraclides, a physician, and his mother Praxitela and it is widely believed that Hippocrates learned medicine from his father and grandfather. Aside from studying with his father, Hippocrates was also most likely trained at the Asklepieion or, healing temple of Cos. He soon became a famous ambassador for medicine often defending his findings against the strong opposing infrastructure of Greece. For this opposition he endured a 20 year prison sentence during which time, he wrote well known medical works such as The Complicated Body, encompassing many of the things we know to be true today.

Hippocrates is also credited with categorizing illnesses as acute, chronic, endemic and epidemic, and the use of terms such as, «exacerbation, relapse, resolution, crisis, paroxysm, peak, and convalescence.» Hippocrates taught and practiced medicine throughout his life, traveling at least as far as Thessaly, Thrace and to towns around the Sea of Marmara. Several different accounts of his death exist but it believed that he died most likely in Larissa, at the age of between 83 to 90 — some accounts record that he may well have lived to be over 100.

The two coins, designed by senior Mint artist George Stamatopoulos, — designer of the 2014 COTYaward winner for the most historical coin, includes an exquisitely intricate and detailed profile of Hippocrates facing to the left with the text "ΙΠΠΟΚΡΑΤΗΣ O ΚΩOΣ 460 Π.Χ. — 377 Π.Χ.» positioned to the left side of the coin. The portrait & text is surrounded by a circular border made of a classical «Greek key» motif. To the left of the profile, the year of issue «2013».

The reverse includes a rendition of a frieze of Asclepius, the demi-god who is revered for medicine and healing in ancient Greek religions. Above the primary design is the national crest of Greece along with the text "ΕΛΛΙΝΙΚΗ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ" (Hellenic Republic) along the upper edge with the coin's denomination of 10 ΕΥΡΩ or 200 ΕΥΡΩ seen just below the design. The distinctive mintmark of the Greek State Mint is placed just under the year.

For more information on this and other coins offered by the Bank of Greece. Information is offered in English and Greek. 

The Eero Järnefelt commemorative coin tells the story of a master artist whose insightful works touch generation after generation. Buy the beautiful, proof-quality commemorative coin in an elegant cardboard package or clear glass Vitriini case. Perfect as a gift or memento!

A coin for the painter of the Finnish soul. The work of Eero Järnefelt (1863–1937), one of the masters of the golden age of Finnish art, is imprinted on the hearts of the Finnish people. If anyone, Järnefelt has earned his commemorative coin. 

Järnefelt was an astute and profound portraitist, who understood the everyday life of the common man. The artist's portrayal of nature is also a portrait of the Finnish soul. Järnefelt's rugged landscapes, and those depicting Koli in particular, are said to portray the place where we realise we have come home.

Country: British Antarctic Territory
Data of issue: November 8, 2013
Face value: 10 Euro
Metal: Silver .925
Weight: 25,5 g
Diameter: 38,6 mm
Quality: Proof
Designer: Petri Neuvonen Mintage: 17 000 pcs

The works of legendary Finnish artist Eero Järnefelt were almost never painted at all. While his father encouraged his son to study art, Eero himself wanted upon matriculation to become a school teacher. Fortunately he listened to his father, and as a result Finland was blessed with a master of landscape and portrait painting for its golden age of art.

Eero Järnefelt (1863−1937) was born into a family steeped in culture − his mother was from St Petersburg and his father was a general. Järnefelt studied the arts in both St Petersburg and Paris. Like his contemporaries, he sought inspiration from Karelia, but only from Savo and Savonians did Järnefelt find the Finland evoked in his paintings depicting the people. 

Among the artist’s most famous works, for example, Burning the Brushwood (1893) and A Farmer with his Workers (1893) were painted in Savo. 

The National Bank of Ukraine introduces the memorable coin the “Year of the Horse” from December 10.

Its circulation is 25,000, the regulator's press service informs.

On the coin's obverse the following is depicted: on top there is the small State Emblem of Ukraine, under which - the inscription National Bank of Ukraine, surrounded by a stylized floral ornament - UAH 5 face value. Below - the year of coinage in 2014, as well as the designation of metal, its fineness - Ag 925, weight in fineness - 15.55 and the logo of the National Bank of Ukraine's Mint.

On the coin's reverse, surrounded by a stylized floral ornament, a horse is depicted in a woodcut style, whose eye is decorated with cubic zirconium oxide of brown color. On this composition and placed underneath are contour figures of all 12 characters of the Eastern calendar.

The coin belongs to the Oriental Calendar series and is dedicated to the Year of the Horse.

Country: Ukraine
Data of issue: 10.12.2013
Face value: 5 Hryvnia
Metal: Silver .925
Weight: 15,55 g
Diameter: 33 mm
Quality: Proof
Mintage: 25 000 pcs
Price, Hryvnas: 360

November 29, National Bank of Moldova began taking orders for Silver Coins dedicated to Southern Damselfly. Coin is the second in series 'Red book of Republic of Moldova'. The first coin in this serie is 'Mute Swan'.

Obverse:
on the central part – the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Moldova; on the upper part – year of issue '2013'; on the bottom the inscription – '50 LEI'; following the coin circumference – the inscription 'REPUBLICA MOLDOVA' is engraved.

Reverse:
on the central part – on a vegetal background, the image of a Southern Damselfly; following the coin circumference — the inscriptions 'CARTEA ROŞIE', 'LIBELULA MERCURIU', 'COENAGRION MERCURIALE' are engraved.

Country: Moldova
Data of issue: November 29, 2013
Face value: 50 Lei
Metal: Silver .999 
Weight: 16,5 g
Diameter: 30 mm
Quality: Proof
Mintage: 2000 pcs

Pobjoy Mint is delighted to announce the release of a new coin on behalf of the British Antarctic Territory which features the new Halley VI Research Station.

Britain’s latest Antarctic Research Station became fully operational in February 2013, signalling a new dawn for 21st Century polar research. Opening one hundred years after Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Antarctic expeditions, the new state-of-the-art research facility demonstrates the UK’s ambition to remain at the forefront of scientific endeavour.

Funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the Department of Business Innovation and Skills, the British Antarctic Survey’s (BAS) Halley VI Research Station is set to become an icon for British science, architecture and engineering.

The new research station, which replaces the 20-year old Halley V facility, is the sixth to be built on the floating Brunt Ice Shelf.

The first station, occupied in 1957 for a Royal Society expedition during the International Geophysical Year, established the region as an important natural laboratory for studying the Earth’s magnetic field and the near-space atmosphere. It was data from Halley that led to the 1985 BAS discovery of the ozone hole.

The design on the coin itself features a design of Halley VI underneath the Aurora Australis while the obverse of the coin carries an effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS.  Available in Cupro Nickel and Proof Sterling Silver, each coin is detailed to perfection with the precious metal versions struck four times to attain the highest quality 'proof' finish.

Country: British Antarctic Territory
Data of issue: December, 2013
Face value: 2 pounds
Metal: Silver .925 / Cupro Nickel 
Weight: 28,28 g
Diameter: 38,6 mm
Quality: Proof / UNC
Mintage: 10 000 pcs / 50 000 pcs

Not only for giving gifts, the New Year is also a time for the people of Austria to put the harshness of winter on hold and to ensure the year to come will bring them good luck. This delightful New Year 2014 silver coin celebrates some of the most typical customs that help them do so.

A favourite among children, Bleigiessen is the melting of lead into shapes whose meaning is interpreted much like the shapes made by tea leaves. The Neujahrsschnalzen banishes the winter with the crack of a whip and the sun mask wards off the cold. Other, more universal symbols of good luck, such as the four leaf clover and the horseshoe, make an appearance on the coin’s reverse, as do pigs and mushrooms, which also symbolise good fortune to the Austrians.

The nine-sided coin’s obverse shows the nine coats of arms of Austria’s nine provinces.

Country: Austria 
Data of issue: December 04, 2013
Face value: 5 Euro
Metal: Silver .800
Weight: 10 g
Diameter: 18,5 mm
Quality: UNC
Mintage: 200,000 (UNC) Copper, 50,000 (Special UNC)