2018-04-18 Wed

new three-coin series called “The Earth and Beyond” has been introduced by the Royal Australian Mint. The first coin in the series features planet Earth in colour. All three coins will be made of 1-ounce .999 fine silver. They will be dome-shaped with a concave obverse and a convex reverse. The Royal Australian Mint has added colour to the convex side of a coin for the first time.

The new coin recreates a photograph called “Blue Marble” which shows a full view of Earth. The photograph was taken on 7th December 1972 from Apollo 17 which was headed to the moon. The concave obverse features a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II surrounded by the planets of the solar system. 5,000 pieces of the Earth coin are available for purchase. They are enclosed in a presentation box with a numbered certificate of authenticity, along with an outer box.

The second and third coins in the series are going to depict the moon and sun respectively. The moon coin will be released in September this year while the Sun coin will be released in February 2019.

Image Courtesy: The Royal Australian Mint