Estimate: 20.000 EuroBrandenburg.
Friedrich Wilhelm, the Great Elector.
Ducat 1686 LCS, Berlin.
Extremely rare.
Attractive piece.
36
Estimate: 50.000 EuroBavaria.
Maximilian II.
Ducat 1855.
Only a few pieces are known.
Extremely fine-uncirculated.
105
Estimate: 125.000 EuroBrunswick-Bevern.
Ferdinand Albrecht I.
Löser in the weight of 4 Reichstalers 1670, Clausthal.
Extremely rare.
Attractive piece.
135
Estimate: 100.000 EuroLippe.
Friedrich Adolf.
5 Ducats 1711, Detmold.
Only known piece.
Extremely fine-uncirculated.
184
Estimate: 50.000 EuroCity of Nuremberg.
10 Ducats 1630.
Extremely rare.
Extremely fine.
198
Estimate: 40.000 EuroCity of Regensburg.
6 Ducats, n. d. (1765-1790), with the title of Joseph II.
NGC MS 62 PL.
Extremely rare.
Attractive piece from polished dies.
Almost uncirculaed.
251
Estimate: 125.000 EuroHolstein-Gottorp.
Johann Adolf, 1590-1616.
Portugalöser (10 ducats) n.d., Eutin.
Extremely rare and of particular
significance in monetary history.
Attractive piece.
295
Estimate: 200.000 EuroRDR.
Leopold I, 1657-1705.
20 Ducats, n. d. (after 1666), Hall,
by M. König.
Extremely rare.
Almost extremely fine.
376
Estimate: 125.000 EuroArchbishopric of Salzburg.
20 Ducats 1687.
NGC AU 58.
Extremely rare.
Extremely fine.
423
Estimate: 40.000 EuroVienna.
Salvator medal in the weight of 24 Ducats,
n. d. (after 1843), by K. Lange.
NGC PF 61.
Extremely rare.
Proof.
431
Archive: People and Markets

CIT presents: Alcatraz Island

With Alcatraz, CIT presents a coin that takes the depiction of islands to a completely new level. Thanks to an ultra-high relief created with smartminting® technology and accurate color application, it has become possible to recreate a three-dimensional model of the Alcatraz prison island on a silver coin with a weight of three oz. Be it from a bird’s eye view or from the side, the coin depicts the penitentiary complex in all its details and illustrates why the island became a myth. With this issue, CIT and B. H. Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt demonstrate the ultra-high relief with color application.

Content

Description of the Coin

One side shows a three-dimensional model of the Alcatraz prison island from a bird’s eye view. In the water around it ALCATRAZ ISLAND, at the top 2023.

The other side features the portrait of Elizabeth II, below IRB (= Ian Rank-Broadley), around it the legend ELIZABETH II COOK ISLANDS 20 DOLLARS.

Cook Islands / 20 Dollars / Silver .9999 / 3 oz / 50 mm / Mintage figure: 750 pieces.

Cook Islands / 20 Dollars / Silver .9999 / 3 oz / 50 mm / Mintage figure: 750 pieces.

Background

After the seemingly insurmountable prison walls, escapees had to face another obstacle: the cliffs. And that is not even the biggest problem. Although the coast and thus safety is just about 2 kilometers away, a cold and treacherous current around The Rock even impedes the most experienced swimmer from reaching land. When it was opened in 1934, this obstacle was considered impossible to overcome because only a fraction of the population could swim at the time. Rumors about myriads of sharks in the waters around Alcatraz Island further pushed this narrative. Alcatraz was considered the safest prison in the United States for many years.

Nowadays you can visit the abandoned Alcatraz prison as a tourist. Photo: druchoy via Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Nowadays you can visit the abandoned Alcatraz prison as a tourist. Photo: druchoy via Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0.

In 1963, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy had it closed. The reasons were the excessive costs and a paradigm shift in the penal system. Deterrence was replaced by resocialization. Today, Alcatraz is a popular tourist destination off the San Francisco coast.

If you want to experience all three dimensions of this coin, you have to watch the corresponding video:

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from YouTube. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.

More Information

Nothing more to miss!

subscribe our newsletter here