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Bedrock of the Community
 Canada
24885 Posts |
Quote:Picked up 4 more Kiwi's off ebay - including the low mintage 1936 - 150,000 minted. Very nice!  |
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Bedrock of the Community
Canada
24885 Posts |
2002 Australia Fine Silver 1 Ounce Kookaburra 1 Dollar  -  |
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CCF Master Historian of USA Commemoratives
 United States
12330 Posts |
The gold Quarter Eagle ($2.50) is an example of a coin with animals on both the obverse and reverse. The obverse includes a mythological creature - the hippocampus, while the reverse presents a very real one - an American Bald Eagle. The eagle made its first appearance within the classic US commemorative series on two coins of the 1915 program issued in support of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. I've previously presented the silver half dollar in this thread (See it here), so this time out I'm presenting the gold quarter eagle ($2.50 coin). The coin's design was the result of efforts by Charles Barber, sixth Chief Engraver of the US Mint, and Assistant Engraver George Morgan. As was custom, Barber took responsibility for the coin's obverse and assigned Morgan to the reverse. The obverse presents the allegorical figure of Columbia - the personification of the United States - seated on a hippocampus - a fictitous animal that dates to the times of Greek mythology; a hippocampus was said to be an animal that combined the front quarters of a horse with the body and tail of a fish. Columbia is also shown holding a caduceus in her left hand which is meant to represent the medical triumph over yellow fever that enabled the Panama Canal to be be built/completed. The coin's reverse depicts a left-facing eagle in mid-stride on a pedestal with its wings elevated but not fully extended. The motto "E PLURIBUS UNUM" presented on the pedestal's plaque was making its co-debut on US commemorative coinage (it simultaneously appeared on the Pan-Pac Expo $50 gold coins). 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition Gold Quarter Eagle  Note: I do not own this coin yet, so I am presenting images of it courtesy of Heritage Auctions, https://www.ha.com.For more posts about commemorative coins and medals, check out: Read More: Commems Collection. Collecting history one coin or medal at a time! (c) commems. All rights reserved.
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Moderator
United States
190135 Posts |
Nice examples! |
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Bedrock of the Community
Canada
24885 Posts |
Quote:Nice examples!  |
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Pillar of the Community
2145 Posts |
Quote:2002 Australia Fine Silver 1 Ounce Kookaburra1 Dollar Very nice! Quote:
The obverse presents the allegorical figure of Columbia - the personification of the United States - seated on a hippocampus - a fictitious animal that dates to the times of Greek mythology; a hippocampus was said to be an animal that combined the front quarters of a horse with the body and tail of a fish. Columbia is also shown holding a caduceus in her left hand which is meant to represent the medical triumph over yellow fever that enabled the Panama Canal to be be built/completed. Extremely interesting.......... |
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Pillar of the Community
 Canada
2754 Posts |
1997 Gibraltar, 1 ROYAL  |
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Moderator
United States
190135 Posts |
Quote:
1997 Gibraltar, 1 ROYAL Lovely example! |
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Bedrock of the Community
Canada
24885 Posts |
Quote:
1997 Gibraltar, 1 ROYAL Very nice! |
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CCF Master Historian of USA Commemoratives
United States
12330 Posts |
I'm going to wrap up my survey of classic era US commemorative coins that feature one or more animals in their design with a quick look at the two coins with the series' highest denomination - the two varieties of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition Quintuple Eagle ($50) coin. The US Mint struck the coin in round and octagonal varieties with essentially the same design. On the obverse is found a left-facing portrait of Minerva - the Roman goddess of "wisdom and statecraft" (1) - wearing a crested helmet. On the reverse, an owl is depicted perched on a pine tree branch with multiple pine cones. The owl is symbolic of wisdom and knowledge. On the octagonal variety, dolphins are seen on each side in the coin's eight corners. So, the round variety features one animal (a bird) and the octagonal features two (a bird and an aquatic mammal). The coins were sold for $100 each at the Exposition, but neither had a high sales volume. The net mintage for the round variety was 483; for the octagonal variety, 645. The coins were designed by Robert Aitken who also created the designs for the 1921 Missouri Statehood Centennial half dollar and the 1935-36 California-Pacific International Exposition half dollar (aka "San Diego"); the San Diego was another Aitken design that featured Minerva. 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition Gold $50 - Round Variety  1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition Gold $50 - Octagonal Variety  Image Credit: Images of both varieties courtesy of Heritage Auctions, http://www.ha.com. For other of my discussions of commemorative coins and medals, including Aiken's other designs, check out: Read More: Commems CollectionWorks Cited1. Kelsey, Francis. An Outline of Greek and Roman Mythology. Boston : Allyn and Bacon, 1889. p 33. Collecting history one coin or medal at a time! (c) commems. All rights reserved.
Edited by commems
04/03/2021 11:13 am
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Moderator
United States
190135 Posts |
Lovely examples! |
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Bedrock of the Community
Canada
24885 Posts |
1966 Republica de Chile. 10 centesimos.   |
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Moderator
United States
190135 Posts |
Quote:
1966 Republica de Chile. 10 centesimos. Fantastic! |
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Bedrock of the Community
Canada
24885 Posts |
1969 Jamaica. 5 Cents wide legend letters; non-magnetic.   |
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CCF Master Historian of USA Commemoratives
United States
12330 Posts |
Here's a 2013 release from the Royal Canadian Mint ( RCM); it was part of that year's Fine Silver Proof Set. Shown on the commemorative reverse are the dogs of the expedition's dogsled team. The sleds were pulled by dog teams in support of the scientific expedition's exploration of Canada's High Arctic between 1913 and 1916.  Collecting history one coin or medal at a time! (c) commems. All rights reserved.
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Posted 03/29/2021 01:45 am
