Germany is currently "doing" a series of €100 gold coins dedicated to Unesco Cultural Heritage sites in the country. Here are a few images, focusing on churches; I do not collect them so these are embedded Wikimedia photos. Quedlinburg 2003 Bamberg 2004 Lübeck 2007 Aachen 2012 Speyer 2019 This year the series comes to an end with a piece depicting the cathedral in Speyer. Image from a government press release. Not issued yet, comes in early October ... Christian
Did they contract these out with a local elementary school? It is really hard to believe that engraving has gone so far backwards compared to some of the amazing specimens from a few hundred years ago.
Engravers/ mint masters of the period 1600-1850 where true artists. Cannot say the same for the crappy stuff coming from the various mints in 2019. Great Britain kept their Sovereign exactly to the fine standards of 1817. To bad Germany did not keep up to the excellence of Nurnberg/ Regensburg "City View" gold Dukats.....
We live in the 21st century, not 300 to 400 years ago. Our houses are different from what they were like back then, furniture, tools, mobility, communication, and so on. But our coins are supposed to look like renaissance or art nouveau pieces? Fortunately they are different. Of course I do not like the design of each and every €100 gold coin from that series. Which is also why I find it peculiar that anybody would simply "trash" them all this way. And I wonder which elementary school student would be able to create such designs. But the nice thing about coin collecting (and a few other hobbies) is that what one collector strongly dislikes is sought after by another ... Christian
From a current auction. Russia - Alexander II gold 'Consecration of St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg' Medal 1858 MS62 NGC
Before I die I want to buy this Cathedral Medal..."St. Paul's Church at Rome" by Jacques Weiner... so much depth and beauty. I could look at it all day... So amazing. I want it.
I thought about that as soon as I saw the thread resurface. I've only seen a few seconds of coverage about the fiery catastrophe at Notre Dame when my wife showed it to me on her phone. I cringed. Have avoided looking at the stories so far. This little 11mm, 0.5g proof gold coin struck to commemorate Notre Dame's 850th anniversary has been in one of my watchlists for a while. I see now in going back to it that it has now sold. Might have to find one one of these days. I'll bet they're seeing an uptick in popularity. They're small, but lovely looking.
That Notre-Dame coin can be had in various silver (€10, €50) and gold (€5, €50, €200, €5,000) versions. The 10 euro piece has a diameter of 37 mm ... Christian
An updated version, so to say, can be viewed here. The post after that deals with a medal issued for the same reason. Christian
Austria Abbey of LAMBACH Placidus Hieber von Greifenfels Medallic 1/2 Gulden 1656 For completion of new baroque church on 600th anniversary of founding of the abbey.
Italy PAPAL STATES - ANCONA Sixtus V Piastre 1588 with Virgin and child over Basilica della Santa Casa di Loreto on reverse. According to legend, Empress Helena on a pilgrimage in 336 had a basilica erected over Mary's house at Nazareth, converted into a church by the 12 Apostles. Threatened with destruction by Muslims, angels carried the house ( the Santa Casa) first to Rijeka (Croatia) in 1291, where an appearance of the Virgin and numerous miraculous cures attested its sanctity, then to Recanati in 1294 and finally to Loreto, near Ancona, in 1295. Sixtus V, who came from the Marches, built the facade of the basilica in which the Santa Casa lies today.
Update: the coin in the OP just graded out at PR70 DCAM at PCGS, and is on its way back. First 70 I've ever made!
Great Britain, Protestant medal against the Declaration of Indulgence (James II) of 1688. Cast Silver, 57.8mm