Tiffany Art – Isfahan
Palau. 20 dollars. 2020. Silver .999. 3 oz. 55 mm. Proof. Mintage: 999. Tiffany glass inlay; smartminting©. B. H. Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt, Munich.
Palau. 25 dollars. 2020. Silver .999. 5 oz. 65 mm. Black Proof. Mintage: 555. Tiffany glass inlay with gold plating; smartminting. B. H. Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt, Munich.
Description of the Coin
One side features a part of the Shah Mosque of Isfahan: in the foreground a balcony with typical decorative muqarnas ceiling, which draws the observer’s attention to the Tiffany glass inlay ornamented on the Black Proof issue with a golden mashrabiya element. In the background a part of the cupola of the Shah Mosque. Distributed on the architectural elements is the inscription “Isfahan / Tiffany Art 2020”.
The other side shows a line of arches decorated with the typical floral tile elements that can be found in the mosques of Isfahan. They are concentrated on a window element made of blue-green Tiffany glass; in the lower third small coat of arms of the Republic of Palau, below 20 Dollars, 25 Dollars respectively.
Background
In 2020, CIT Coin Invest AG concludes its successful Tiffany Art series with the Isfahan issue. As the series’ crowning glory, the Liechtenstein company presents two special editions of the sophisticated issues: the 3 oz piece in Proof and the 5 oz piece in Black Proof with gold plating on the Tiffany glass inlay.
Isfahan, Persia’s capital, has been one of the places people from the Western world dream of for centuries. Its architectural wealth overwhelms everybody who is lucky enough to take a walk on the Maidan. This monumental square – Maidan literally means “square” – is one of the largest of the entire world and connects the vast portal of the imperial palace with the entry to the Grand Bazaar and the two most famous mosques of Persia: the Shah Mosque depicted on the coin and the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque.
When Shah Abbas I – a contemporary of Emperor Rudolf II, Philip II of Spain, Elizabeth I of England and Henry IV of France – had this magnificent site built between 1590 and 1595, he named it Naghsh-e Jahan – “Image of the World”. According to a Persian saying, “esfahan nesf-e jahan”: Isfahan is half the world!
The award-winning series Tiffany Art is one of the important milestones in the history of CIT Coin Invest. In 2004, the first issue of the series was launched. Since then, minting technology improved every year.
Falk Liebnitzky of CIT Coin Invest comments:
“We hope that these two special issues will be a delight for all those who are enthusiastic about our Tiffany Art series. The issues demonstrate what has become possible over the course of the last two decades thanks to smartminting and most sophisticated finishing technologies. When we created Tiffany Art in 2004, we would never have dared to dream of coins like the ones that conclude the series now. Back then, producing them was impossible from a technological point of view. However, it was actually never about trying new technologies. The ultimate purpose of any new coin technology is to enhance a coin’s beauty, that’s what the Tiffany Art series stands for.”
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www.cit.li/coins/tiffany-art-isfahan-silver-proof
www.cit.li/coins/tiffany-art-isfahan-black-proof
