Apart from its regular circulating coinage, Solomon Islands has authorised a number of private mints to issue collector coins in precious metals, which are legal tender in the country but are not intended for general circulation. Many of them are in standard bullion sizes - typically, one ounce of silver (abbreviated as 1 oz Ag, where "Ag" comes from the Latin word for silver, Argentum). These are usually dedicated to historical or general popular culture themes not related to the country itself.
The Bald Eagle Silver Coin is the first of three issues in the Hunters of the Sky Series from PAMP Suisse, which features coins shaped as the flying predators they depict.
The Mint says about it: Engineered by Nature for flight, speed, and stealth, birds of prey are indeed magnificent creatures that have captured humankind’s collective imagination for millennia. This pure silver, legal tender coin series features three exceptional designs beginning with the Bald Eagle.
Each coin has been meticulously minted in fine detail and precisely shaped to represent its namesake bird, a coin collecting first! Individually serialised, secured within custom capsules, and accompanied by fact-filled Certificates of Authenticity, each design is limited to a mintage of 2,500 coins worldwide. |
Obverse | |
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, the date of issue and the value: ELIZABETH II SOLOMON ISLANDS 2 DOLLARS 2019.
The portrait and the surrounding rim with the inscription are small and are in the left part of the obverse.
At centre, , the unique serial number of the coin; on two lines on the right, the precious metal content: 1 OZ 999.9 Ag (one troy ounce of 99.99% silver). |
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