Tiffany Art Metropolis: San Pietro
Palau. 25 Dollars 2022. Silver .999. 5 oz. 65 mm. Black Proof. Mintage: 555 pieces.
Palau. 500 Dollars 2022. Gold .9999. 5 oz. 50 mm. Proof. Mintage: 50 pieces.
Special technology: smartminting® (Ultra High Relief); Tiffany glass inlay. Minted by B. H. Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt, Munich.
Description of the Coin
The other side presents a view inside St. Peter’s Basilica. Through the open wings of Filarete’s central portal with the depictions of Paul (left) and Peter (right), we look into the nave. In the center, the main altar with Bernini’s baldachin. Below the coat of arms of Palau and the circumscription REPUBLIC OF PALAU 25 or 500 $; below a red Tiffany inlay with the floor plan of St. Peter. At the very bottom the inscription Tiffany Art 2022 Metropolis.
Background
Since 2021, CIT has been issuing the successor to the legendary Tiffany series: Tiffany Art Metropolis. In 2022, Paris was followed by Rome.
Every year, Tiffany Art Metropolis consists of two issues with completely different motifs for each city. “Roma” was already launched in the spring of 2022. The issue focused on the Tiber River, which flows – as an inlay of green Tiffany glass –through the three-dimensional depiction of the city of Rome, presented from a bird’s eye view. The second issue, which is released with a significantly smaller mintage figure, takes up the city’s most popular building: St. Peter’s Basilica with its world-famous dome.
Who wouldn’t recognize this massive monument to the papacy, built over the humble tomb where St. Peter’s bones are believed to have been discovered? CIT reproduces its baroque splendor with an attention to detail that is reminiscent of the master of numismatic architectural designs, Jacques Wiener. Thanks to sophisticated smartminting technology and inlay technique that has been perfected over many years, Tiffany Art Metropolis San Pietro is an elaborate work of art that provides three views of St. Peter’s at once: the facade on one side, the glance inside on the other side, and the floor plan as a recessed image inside the Tiffany glass on the other side. Jacques Wiener would be amazed by these coins, which even surpass his own creations.
Further Information
www.cit.li/coins/tiffany-art-metropolis-roma-black-proof/
www.cit.li/coins/tiffany-art-metropolis-roma-gold/
* * *
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.