Isle of Man Releases 2018 Silver and Gold Bullion Angel Coins

December 10, 2018

Isle of Man – 2018 Angel

Isle of Man. Angel. 2018. Silver .999. 2 oz. 38.61 mm. Proof. Mintage: 999 pcs. B. H. Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt, Munich.

Isle of Man. Angel Gold. 2018. Gold .9999. 1/64 oz. 11 mm. Proof. Mintage: 15,000 pcs. B. H. Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt, Munich.

Description

The obverse bears Jody Clark’s portrait of Queen Elizabeth II of England (the signature JC is above the right shoulder), along with the inscription QUEEN ELIZABETH II ISLE OF MAN / 2018.

The reverse shows Saint Michael slaying the devil in the shape of a dragon. In the exergue are the weights Ag .999 2 ounces / ANGEL or Au .9999 half gram / ANGEL, respectively. The design is framed by an elaborate border with variations of the island’s coat of arms, the triskele, which appears at the top above the angel’s halo.

Background

The Angel is the bullion coin of the Isle of Man, which, as a crown dependency, has its own minting privilege. On the obverse, it shows the Isle of Man’s head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, in the official portrait by Jody Clark. Its precursor, the official portrait of the Queen that was featured on all British coins between 1985 and 1997, was made by Raphael David Maklouf, who now has designed the reverse of the Angel in 2017 and 2018.

Raphael David Maklouf was born in Jerusalem in 1937. After the Second World War, he emigrated to Great Britain with his family. Since 1979, he has been an associate of the Royal Society of British Sculptors. Furthermore, he is the owner of The Tower Mint in London. Thus, Raphael Maklouf is one of Great Britain’s many immigrant medalists, who, like Benedetto Pistrucci, have influenced British coin design. In 2018/2019, they are being honored at a special exhibition at the British Museum.

Saint Michael, slaying the devil in the shape of a dragon, is featured in smartminting technology high relief on the coin’s reverse. He is among the island’s most important saints. For the Manx people, he was the opposing part to the British Saint George. Not only numerous churches are named after Saint Michael, but also an administrative district and a small island, which today is an important bird sanctuary.