As in the past I wanted to share the recent arrival of some coins that I thought might be of interest to readers. The latest are three Belarusian coins from the Folk Legends series that caught my eye due to the very distinctive designs.

The Republic of Belarus has an extensive commemorative coin program, which has honored famous people, cities, architectural monuments, history, and various cultural aspects. The various coins have been minted in gold, silver, or base metal with very low mintages. A listing of their commemorative coin issues can be found here.

The coin shown above is the 2012 Legend of the Bear 20 Rubles Silver Coin, first released in December 2012. The obverse design contains the State Coat of Arms of the Republic of Belarus in the upper portion and a spinning wheel in the center with its pattern changing into the structure of tree rings. The images of bears and men appear surrounding the wheel, as the characters of the folk legend. The reverse design contains an intricately detailed and very distinctive image of a bear, surrounded by mythological symbols of Belarusian legends.

The silver version of the coin is struck to proof quality in .925 silver with a weight of 33.62 grams and diameter of 38.61 mm. The mintage is indicated as just 2,000 pieces. The copper nickel version is proof-like with a weight of 15.50 grams and diameter of 33 mm. The mintage is also 2,000 pieces.

The National Bank website lists the original sales price for the silver coin at 600,000 Belarusian Rubles, or around 70 USD. The coins seem to be sold mostly in Belarus and does not seem to be too many dealers who carry the coins. I was able to pick up the coin on eBay at a price only modestly above the issue price. The coin came shipped from Poland.

So far, there are five releases listed for the Belarusian Folk Legends series comprising the following:

• The Legend of the Stork
• The Legend of the Cuckoo
• The Legend of the Skylark
• The Legend of the Tortoise
• The Legend of the Bear

All of these were produced in both silver (20 Rubles) and copper nickel (1 Ruble) versions. The mintages indicated for the first three issues were 5,000 pieces each. This was reduced to 3,000 for the tortoise and then 2,000 for the bear.

The coins all feature the same basic design with the spinning wheel and silhouetted animals on the obverse and a highly detailed and stylized image of the animal on the reverse. Along with the bear, I also purchased the stork and cuckoo coins. These can be found at lower prices compared to the bear.

Issued by the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus, these coins are actually minted by the Lithuanian Mint. Earlier this year, I shared a Lithuanian coin that I was particularly impressed with.

I wanted to share the arrival of a new world coin that I found particularly impressive. Struck by the Lithuanian Mint, the coin is dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the 1863-1864 Uprising, also referred to as the January Uprising.

An image of the coin in hand is shown below. Click for a larger version.

The obverse design of the coin displays the coat of arms of the 1863-1864 Uprising, representing the three nations forming the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The eagle represents Poland, the knight on horseback known as Vytis represents Lithuania, and the Archangel Michael represents Ruthenia. The inscription above  is “LIETUVA” (Lithuania) with the 2013 date, and below is “50 LITU” (50 Litas).

The reverse of the coin features the weapons of the insurgents, consisting mostly straightened scythes. An inscription above reads “1863-1864 SUKILIMAS” (the 1863-1864 Uprising).

What I liked about this coin was the striking and evocative nature of the design, which uses stark and uncluttered images to symbolically represent the uprising. Sometimes a single, striking image can convey much more than a detailed or literal interpretation.

Each coin is struck in .925 silver with a diameter of 38.61 mm and weight of 28.28 grams. The coin is indicated to be struck in proof quality, but the execution of the finish differs from a traditional proof. The swords on the reverse and partial borders around the images of the obverse are recessed below the surface of the coin and only these areas are mirrored. The remaining surfaces of the coin are lightly frosted with a satin-like finish.

The edge of the coin is lettered with the LAISVĖ*LYGYBĖ*NEPRIKLAUSOMYBĖ* (FREEDOM*EQUALITY*INDEPENDENCE).

The mintage for the coin is 3,000 pieces, which is lower than the mintage levels for some recent prior year commemoative silver coins from Lithuania.

This page on the website of the Central Bank of the Republic of Lithuania shows other recent issues and includes order forms for the coins. I am not sure which whether they will fulfill orders to other countries. I purchased my coin on eBay.

Bank of Canada Hoard 1912-1914 Gold Coins

There have been some reports that the Royal Canadian Mint has started to ship the 1912-1914 Gold Coins, which were offered for sale late last year from a hoard stored at the Bank of Canada for more than 75 years. The coins offered were classified as either “Premium Hand Selected” or “Hand Selected”.

Many readers were curious as to the quality of the coins for these categories and how the coins might grade numerically. If possible I would like to have a future post on World Mint News Blog which explores these issues.

Any readers who ordered the coins and have received them are invited to contact me to submit images and/or provide comments on the quality of the coins. If anyone plans to submit their coins for grading, it would also be interesting to see the results. Hopefully readers can submit some information and images for a forthcoming post. Thanks in advance!

In a previous post, I had discussed the 2012 Europa Coin Programme, which highlights European Artists. One of the coins that caught my eye was the Master Pavol of Levoča 10 Euro Coin from Slovakia.

Master Pavol a medieval carver and sculptor of the 15th and 16th centuries. He was active within the town of Levoča within the Kingdom of Hungary, which is in present day Slovakia. Portions of his work are depicted on the recent coin issue.

The obverse contains an image of the Madonna from the Nativity scene in St. Jacob’s Church in Levoča. The background includes a Gothic arch and elements from Master Pavol’s workshop, with the national emblem on the right side. The reverse contains a detail from a sculpture of an apostle. Once again, an arch and other elements are placed in the background.

The edge of the coin carries an inscription which translates to “From Gothic to Renaissance.”

The coin is struck in 90% silver and has a weight of 18 grams. This yields silver content of about 0.5208 troy ounces.

I was able to purchase this coin directly from the website of the Kremnica Mint. The uncirculated version of the coin was priced at 24.90 Euros, which is low compared to what some other world mints charge for similar sized coins.

I also added a commemorative coin to the order, which was issued last year to mark the 150th anniversary of the adoption of the Memorandum of the Slovak Nation, which was an important document relating to national emancipation.

The coins arrived more quickly than I expected and were packaged securely with some excellent informative brochures included.

Two more recent releases from the Kremnica Mint include a silver coin honoring Rabbinical Scholar Chatam Sofer and medals struck in gold, silver, and nordic gold for the London 2012 Olympics. You can see coverage of these releases on Coin Update News.

Do you want to share one of your own recent world coin acquisitions or present information on a world mint previously not covered? Contributions from readers are welcome. Contact us via this page.