2018-12-14 Fri

Coin Invest Trust released a new coin from its 7 Summits Series, dedicated to Aconcagua Mountains in South America. The 5 oz 0.999 pure Silver Coin with a face value of 24 Dollars is issued for the Cook Islands and is struck at B. H. Mayer’s Kunstprageanstalt, Munich. It has a diameter of 65 millimetres and a mintage limit of 777 pieces. The obverse features a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II along with initials of the designer, Ian Rank-Broadley - IRB. Other inscriptions include purity of metal .999, ELIZABETH II, country name COOK ISLANDS and face value 25 DOLLARS. The reverse depicts a birds-eye view of the Aconcagua mountain in topographic relief. Light shades of brown and white are applied to selected areas. Other inscriptions on the coin include ACONCAGUA 6962 m – Andes, South America / THE 7 SUMMITS / 2018.

The award-winning The 7 Summits series comprises of coins featuring the top seven highest mountain peaks from seven different continents. The high-relief realistic designs are created using Smartminting technology with colour application. The second coin in the series was dedicated to Mount Everest. It received the second prize in the “Coin of the Year” category at Coin Constellation event in Russia last month.

Aconcagua is located in Argentina and it is 22,837 ft tall. It is not only the highest mountain outside Himalayas but also the highest mountain in Southern and Western Hemispheres. Out of the other Seven Summits in the series, Aconcagua is the only one which can be climbed without any equipment. People from a wide age-group of 9 years to 87 years have climbed the mountain. However, it is not as easy as it sounds because five people lost their lives while trying to climb the mountain in 2009. A 15th-century mummy was also discovered at 17,388 ft.

Due to the scientific expedition of Paul Güssfeldt from Berlin in 1882-83, many German mountaineers liked to climb Aconcagua in those days. In fact, Aconcagua Expedition was so popular with the Germans that one of the camps is named Camp Berlin. However, a Swiss mountain guide named Matthias Zurbriggen was the first recorded person to reach the peak on 14th January 1897.

Image Courtesy: CIT