Cyber Queen – The Beginning
Cook Islands. 20 Dollars 2023. Silver .999. 3 oz. 55 mm. Black Proof. Mintage: 999 pieces. Special technology: smartminting® (Ultra High Relief) with partial color application. Minted by B. H. Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt, Munich.
Description of the Coin
One side depicts a futuristic cyberpunk-style street scene, in the foreground a woman with cybernetic implants on a motorcycle, a cat behind her. Below, the year 2023.
On the other side the legend CYBER QUEEN in the style of a blue neon sign in front of a wall with a fuse box and valves, below in a neon ring the portrait of Elizabeth II, below IRB (= Ian Rank-Broadley), around it the legend ELIZABETH II 20 DOLLARS COOK ISLANDS.
Background
The latest product picking up on a current trend bears the title Cyber Queen – The Beginning and is dedicated to Cyberpunk, a subgenre of Science Fiction.
Cyberpunk is a modern version of “film noir”, whose heroes are no flawless winners beyond fear and reproach but broken characters with questionable morals. Instead of celebrating a glorious future in the style of the classic science fiction genre, cyberpunk focuses on the dystopian fears of dictatorships that use the latest technological means to oppress their populations.
The Cyber Queen, colorfully depicted by CIT, looks like a futuristic witch, cruising the gloomy city with a hairless cat to finish her battle against herself and her enemies. The coin design evokes associations of the great classics of cyberpunk such as Neuromancer, Blade Runner, or The Matrix. It illustrates our great fears of a future where the individual must abandon all scruples to protect their individuality.
Cyber Queen – The Beginning makes use of state-of-the-art minting technology to convey these messages. Thanks to smartminting, it was possible to have the figure virtually ride towards the observer in a three-quarters view on her motorcycle. Particularly skillful is the delicate color application, whose highlights in black, blue, and red give the impression that the observer is looking at reflections of the patina. Especially impressive is the neon effect on the other side, shining a light on the name of the series and the portrait of the late British queen, an indispensable part of a coin of the Cook Islands.
Further Information
www.cit.li/coins/cyber-queen-the-beginning
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CoinWeek Podcast #155: Ultra-Modern Coins Take Over
Mobile phone users. Stream this podcast for free by downloading the podomatic app or subscribe to the CoinWeek Podcast on iTunes.
In this episode of the CoinWeek Podcast, we have a lively, interesting, and provocative conversation with Chang Bullock and Orlando Lorenzana of CIT, where we talk about how ultra-modern coins (or postmodern coins, as we call them) have taken over the contemporary coin market and how CIT’s innovations in color and coin minting technology are changing the game for private and sovereign mints.
You cannot walk away from this podcast without learning something about the way minting has changed–and has always been changing throughout the course of monetary history–and we hope it will give you a clearer picture of where we are heading.
