Mont-Saint-Michel
You need to hold the “Mont-Saint-Michel” in your hand to really appreciate the high level of minting craftsmanship that has gone into this numismatic work of art. Against a deeply concave background, the legendary fortress of the archangel Michael is depicted in three-dimensional relief.
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The picturesque location and impressive architecture fascinate everyone who is lucky enough to experience this wonderful symbiosis of art and nature. CIT has rendered this fascination into numismatic items.
The coin depicts every detail of the monastic island, which – in the image – has just been closed off from the mainland by the tide. Anyone visiting the actual UNESCO World Heritage Site would be able to use this commemorative coin to identify every single house, tower and rock depicted in its cityscape. CIT pays tribute to the impressive island with no less than four coins:
- 1 dollar, 50g copper
- 5 dollars, 0.5g gold
- 10 dollars, 2 ounces of silver
- 25 dollars, 5 ounces of silver
The coins will be produced at B. H. Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt in Munich using the smartminting® technique.
Cook Islands / 25 Dollars /. Silver .999 / 5 oz / 65 mm / Mintage: 500.
Cook Islands / 1 Dollar / Copper / 50 g / 38.61 mm / Mintage: 5,000.
CIT’s Mont-Saint-Michel in Silver and copper
The concave obverse depicts the island of Mont-Saint-Michel, surrounded by the sea, from a bird’s eye view. In the background, a stylised glass window with the inscription MONT / SAINT MICHEL / 1023-2023.
The reverse features a sketch of Mont-Saint-Michel, with the silhouette of a couple in front of it. In the left field a map of France with the location marked, above the portrait of Elizabeth II, below IRB (= Ian Rank-Broadley), above the circumscription ELIZABETH II COOK ISLANDS, below nominal. On the rim a description of Mont-Saint-Michel.
Cook Islands / 5 Dollars / Gold .9999 / 0.5 g / 11 mm / Mintage: 5,000.
CIT’s Mont-Saint-Michel in Gold
One side depicts Mont-Saint-Michel from a bird’s eye view on a stylised glass window, above MONT / SAINT / MICHEL, below 1023-2023.
The other side features a portrait of Elizabeth II, below IRB (= Ian Rank-Broadley), around it the circumscription ELIZABETH II COOK ISLANDS 5 DOLLARS.
Background
It is said that the archangel Michael himself commissioned Bishop Aubert of Avranches to build a church in 708 AD. For the location of his sanctuary, the commander of the heavenly hosts requested a lonely rock off the Norman coast, which is completely closed off from the mainland during high tide. Bishop Aubert obeyed and started building a monastery, which many generations of worshippers have continued to work on ever since. Today, Mont-Saint-Michel attracts around 3.5 million visitors every year. Its picturesque location and impressive architecture will captivate anybody who is lucky enough to experience this wonderful symbiosis between art and nature.
Mont-Saint-Michel seen from the bridge. Photo: Antoine Lamielle via Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0.
For all those who can’t ever forget Mont-Saint-Michel, CIT presents this new commemorative coin, which will be issued in four different versions. In addition to the copper and two colored silver versions, CIT will also be issuing a small gold coin that, despite its weight of 0.5 g, still appears almost monumental.
If you want to experience all three dimensions of this coin, be sure to watch the accompanying video:
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Watch in this short video what Mont-Saint-Michel looks like in real life:
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Here is more information on the four coins:
In the online database of Cosmos of Collectibles, you can find many more CIT coins!
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