| Coin | Silver Ounce 2018 Livonian Crusades |
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The Cook Islands, a sovereign state in free association with New Zealand, uses two official legal tender currencies. The New Zealand Dollar circulates in parallel with the local Cook Islands Dollar; at the same time, the government also authorises many legal tender coins in the Cook Islands Dollar currency for collector's purposes. Many of them are in standard bullion sizes, including one ounce of silver - such as this coin.
This coin is part of the History of the Crusades (Northern Crusades) series and is dedicated to Livonian Crusade.
The Livonian Crusade refers to the various military Christianisation campaigns in medieval Livonia - in what is now Latvia and Estonia - during the Papal-sanctioned Northern Crusades in the 12-13th century. The crusade was conducted mostly by the Holy Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Denmark.
On 2 February 1207, in the territories conquered, an ecclesiastical state called Terra Mariana was established as a principality of the Holy Roman Empire, and proclaimed by Pope Innocent III in 1215 as a subject of the Holy See. After the success of the crusade, the German- and Danish-occupied territory was divided into six feudal principalities by William of Modena. |
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| Obverse | |
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The obverse of the coin shows the crowned mature head of Queen Elizabeth II facing right (her effigy known as the "Fourth Portrait"). The Queen wears the "Girls of Great Britain and Ireland" diamond tiara, a wedding gift from Queen Mary (Her Majesty's grandmother) in 1947 - which she also has on the Machin and the Gottwald portraits.
In small letters below the head, the artist's initials IRB (for Ian Rank-Broadley).
Around the effigy is the monarch's legend and the face value: ELIZABETH II COOK ISLANDS 5 DOLLARS.
The portrait of the Queen is in the lower part of the obverse. The upper part of the obverse, which is common for all coins in the series, depicts the silhouettes of two crusaders - the one on the left holding a large cross, and the one on the right an even larger banner with a cross on it. Around above, the name of the series: HISTORY OF THE CRUSADES. |
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| Reverse | |
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The reverse depicts a medieval cavalry battle. In the foreground on the right, a richly dressed Catholic bishop holding a crosier (curved staff of office) and a model of a church.
In the exergue, his name: ALBERT BISHOP OF RIGA, below which the date of issue 2018.
The inscription and the date are divided by a sword, above which is a Teutonic cross.
Around above, the inscription LIVONIAN CRUSADE. |
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| Reverse Inscription |
LIVONIAN CRUSADE ALBERT BISHOP OF RIGA 2018 |
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| Edge | Milled | Edge Inscription | None |
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| Notes | Finish: antique.
Packaging: in protective capsule and display box, with a Certificate of Authenticity.
NumisCollect Article ID: CK1802
The History of the Crusades was initially announced as a twelve-coin series; however, with the tenth edition it was announced that it will continue with five coins featuring the Northern crusades - this is the first of these. |
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| See also |
Coins in the History of the Crusades include:
- 25 g Silver Antique, First Crusade - Godfrey of Bouillon, 2009
- 25 g Silver Antique, Second Crusade - Louis VII of France, 2009
- 25 g Silver Antique, Third Crusade - Richard the Lionheart, 2010
- 25 g Silver Antique, Fourth Crusade - Dandolo of Venice, 2010
- 25 g Silver Antique, Fifth Crusade - John of Brienne, 2011
- 25 g Silver Antique, Sixth Crusade - Frederick II, 2014
- 25 g Silver Antique, Seventh Crusade - Louis IX, 2015
- 25 g Silver Antique, Eighth Crusade - Charles of Anjou, 2016
- 25 g Silver Antique, Ninth Crusade - Edward I of England, 2016
- 25 g Silver Antique, Tenth Crusade - The Last Crusader, 2017
- 1 oz Silver Antique, Northern Crusades - Livonian Crusade, 2018
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