Silver Two Ounces 2010 Tiffany Art - Rococo, Coin from Palau - detailed information

The Republic of Palau is an island country in the western Pacific, in free association with the United States. In one way or another, the country has been under US administration since it was established, and has never had its own separate currency - it has always used the US Dollar. However, Palau allows some foreign mints to issue coins under its authority; these are denominated in US Dollars but are only legal tender in Palau, so can in a way be considered to be in "Palau Dollars", even though such a currency does not officially exist.

The coins are usually dedicated to historical or general popular culture themes not related to the country itself. Many of them are in standard bullion sizes, including the large two troy ounces (2oz) of silver format.

This coin is part of the Tiffany Art series by CIT Coin Invest, and is dedicated to the Rococo art style.

The mint says about it:
Rococo does not characterise an actual age in art history but the last phase of the Baroque style. Rococo does not distinguish itself from Baroque by its own design-vocabulary but only by advanced and improved Baroque motifs. The name Rococo is seen as a combination of the French words rocaille meaning stone and coquille meaning shell. It may also be related to the Italian barocco, or Baroque style. The name for the shell-like curves is not coincidental as with the curved lines and the lack of symmetry the style still shows two basic stylistic elements. Rococo is smooth, divided into small sections, squiggly and decorative. Unlike Baroque with its theatrical bias for grandeur, power and force, Rococo stands for withdrawal to privacy, for a cultivated and gallant life, for sensuality and lightness.

It is not surprising that Rococo flourished at the French king's court in Versailles; to be exact, under the regency of Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour approximately in 1720. This style in painting, sculpture and architecture spread itself rapidly from France through the whole of Europe. One of its most beautiful manifestations is the Bavarian Church of Wies in the municipality of Steingaden which was built by the brothers Johann Baptist and Dominikus Zimmermann in 1745-1754. With its marvellous playful shapes it decorates the latest edition of the Tiffany Art Collection.