The 7 Summits – Mount Vinson
Cook Islands. 25 Dollars 2022. Silver .999. 5 oz. 65 mm. BU. Mintage: 777 pieces. Special technology: smartminting® (Ultra High Relief) with partial color application. B. H. Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt, Munich.
Description of the Coin
One side shows a bird’s eye view of Mount Vinson, whose peaks are minted in high relief. Partial color application in grey and white. The inscription reads Mt. VINSON 4892 m – Sentinel Range, Antarctica / THE 7 SUMMITS / 2022.
The other side features the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley (signature IRB below the neck). In the right field micro minting .999. Around it the legend ELIZABETH II – COOK ISLANDS 25 DOLLARS.
Background
In 2016, CIT issued the first coin of “The 7 Summits” series, which is dedicated to the highest mountains of the seven continents. Since then, every year a new issue of the successful series has been released. Alongside well-known mountaineering superstars such as Mt. Everest and Mt. Kilimanjaro, CIT presented Denali, Aconcagua, Carstensz Pyramid, and Mt. Elbrus. The last peak to climb is Mt. Vinson: its altitude of 4,897 meters makes it the highest mountain of Antarctica. It is named after a U.S. Senator who promoted the scientific exploration of this continent. Due to the extreme climatic conditions that prevail in Antarctica, Mount Vinson was not conquered until 1966.
Like all other issues of “The 7 Summits” series, Mt. Vinson is characterized by the combination of ultra-high relief and delicate color application – an extremely sophisticated technical achievement. Thanks to smartminting® technology, it was possible to create another three-dimensional, authentic mountain model. In a miniature format, all seven numismatic summits present the gigantic difficulties that had to be overcome to climb the mountain.
Mount Vinson concludes the successful “The 7 Summits” series as the seventh issue. As always, CIT has not increased the initial mintage of 777 specimens per summit since 2016, despite the high demand from customers.
Further Information
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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.
