Fighter Pilot – Real Heroes
Cook Islands. 20 dollars. 2020. Silver .999. 3 oz. 50 mm. Black Proof. Mintage: 499. Special technology: smartminting©, partially printed, with micro minting. B. H. Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt, Munich.
Description of the Coin
Fighter pilot with mirrored visor in front of honeycomb pattern; in the left field REAL / HERO in micro type. Below is a stylized guardian angel.
The other side features the silhouettes of two pilots in gear. To their right, a waiting fighter aircraft. Above it, two departing fighters; below the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank Broadley (initials IRB); around it ELIZABETH II – 20 DOLLARS – COOK ISLANDS – 2020.
Background
Who are the real heroes of our time? All those who make our everyday life a little bit safer and a lot better. CIT Coin Invest dedicates a new series to these real heroes. The topic of the first issue is a job that many boys, young and old, – and after the film Top Gun (1986) also many young women – have dreamed of: fighter pilot.
Fighter pilots are the knights of airspace. They are trained for aerial combat and mustn’t be mistaken for bomber pilots. Since the First World War, they have been the elite of every army and are united across national borders by their code of honor. Being a fighter pilot requires steady nerves, an iron constitution, outstanding reflexes, and a high intelligence quotient in order to cope with the exhausting training. When the Blue Angels, the Patrouille Suisse, or the Patrouille de France demonstrate their daring maneuvers in the sky, anyone seeing them probably dreams of sitting in a cockpit themselves while piloting a Hornet, a Tiger II, or an Alpha Jet.
For the first issue of Real Heroes, CIT Coin Invest used smartminting technology to create the three-dimensional portrait of a fighter pilot wearing a crash helmet and an oxygen mask. The height of the relief is just as breathtaking as the visor shimmering green, brown, and purple creating the impression of the pilot looking at the coin’s observer. The guardian angel logo and the inscription ONLY THE BRAVE ARE FREE at the left of the fighter’s head created with micro minting technology will accompany the real heroes throughout the series.
For the other side, CIT Coin Invest came up with something special, too: instead of dedicating the whole side of the coin to the Queen’s portrait, it was turned into a small detail in a silhouette scenery, whose effect is the result of a virtuoso combination of matte and polished surfaces.
Fighter Pilot is a coin that will amaze all those who dream of doing their best to create a safe world for all the people they love.
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www.cit.li/coins/real-heroes-fighter-pilot
