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.
The mint says about this coin: Everyone knows that the United States of America comprises 50 states. These days it is hard to even imagine the nation any other way. But from the start in 1776 with the first 13 states all the way up to Hawaii becoming the 50th state in 1959, the country’s history has witnessed numerous attempts to establish alternative states that, had they been successful, could have drastically changed the map of North America.
To bring that history to life, the Cook Islands has released a Lost States of America coin series.
To bring this series to life, the Cook islands turned to award-winning artist Joel Iskowitz, a prolific coin and medal designer from New York, who designed more than 50 coins and medals for the U.S. Mint while part of its Artistic Infusion Program from 2005 to 2018. A student of history, Iskowitz based his designs on the unique stories of these Lost States of America.
Using Coin Invest Trust’s (CIT) Smartminting technology, the High Relief detail is so lifelike you’ll almost think you’re witnessing history as it unfolds in your hands! Plus, each coin comes in gorgeous Gem Proof condition, meaning they were all expertly crafted from hand-selected planchets, polished dies and multiple strikes to produce beautifully frosted details rising over mirror-like fields.
The first release in the series features the Lost State of Franklin. Franklin was unrecognised territory created in 1784 in Eastern Tennessee from land that North Carolina had offered Congress to help pay debts from the American Revolution War - this despite the land being offered was the property of Native Americans. The name was chosen in a failed effort of gaining the support of Founding Father Ben Franklin. |