2016-02-16 Tue

To depict a terrible natural calamity on a coin is definitely a very creative and unique idea! The 2015 2-ounce .999 fine silver concave/convex $2 coin from Niue, struck by the Mint of Poland features the volcano Mount Vesuvius! What’s more? A piece of real lava from the volcano is inlaid into the reverse.

Mount Vesuvius, located 5.6 miles east of Naples, a major port in the southern part of Italy, is one of the most famous and dangerous volcanoes in the world, best known for the eruption there in 79 A.D. that killed 16,000 people and destroyed the city of Pompeii (in Italy) and several nearby towns.

The volcano has erupted many times since then, and it is the only volcano in Europe that has erupted in the past century.