Magnificent Argali
Platinum
Mongolia. 25,000 Togrog 2022. Platinum .9995. 1 oz. 33 mm. Proof. Mintage: 199 pieces.
Gold
Mongolia. 25,000 Togrog 2022. Gold .9999. 1 oz. 33 mm. Proof. Mintage: 199 pieces.
Mongolia. 1,000 Togrog 2022. Gold .9999. 1/10 oz. 16.5 mm. Proof. Mintage: 999 pieces.
Silver
Mongolia. 2,000 Togrog 2022. Silver .999. 3 oz. 45 mm. Proof. Mintage: 500 pieces.
Mongolia. 500 Togrog 2022. Silver .999. 1 oz. 38.61 mm. Proof. Mintage: 2,500 pieces.
All coins struck by B. H. Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt, Munich; special technology: smartminting® (Ultra High Relief).
Description of the Coin
One side depicts the combination of a front and a side view of the head of an Altai argali (Ovis ammon) with its impressive horns.
The other side depicts the curved horns of the argali; they frame a medallion featuring the coat of arms of the Bank of Mongolia, below in Cyrillic script the denomination, below in Latin script MONGOLIA, weight, fineness, and material. The background is a complicated geometric pattern with the year hidden in the design.
Background
The wonderful Altai argali (Ovis ammon), the world’s largest species of wild sheep, is the third motif of CIT’s smartminting series, which uses Mongolia’s indigenous animals to explore the possibilities of Ultra High Relief technology. After Majestic Eagle and Mystic Wolf, the impressive horns of the argali illustrate that thanks to innovative smartminting it is possible to create reliefs of a height that could not even be achieved by the 19th-century screw press – not only for gold and silver coins but also for platinum strikes.
Moreover, smartminting enables artists to use the relief however they wish because it is no longer necessary to place the highest point at the center of the coin.
Lovers of ancient coins will immediately associate the Altai argali’s horns with those that adorn the head of Alexander the Great on the coins of Lysimachus. They refer to the divine origin of Alexander, who was believed to be a descendant of Zeus Ammon or – as the Egyptians called him – Amun. Carl von Linné also associated the horns of the Altai argali with the Ammon horns of Alexander the Great. Therefore, he gave it the Latin name Ovis ammon.
Further Information
www.cit.li/coins/magnificent-argali-platinum
www.cit.li/coins/magnificent-argali-gold-1-oz
www.cit.li/coins/magnificent-argali-gold-1-10-oz
www.cit.li/coins/magnificent-argali-silver-3oz
www.cit.li/coins/magnificent-argali-silver-1-oz
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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.
