2016-03-17 Thu

Technology is rocketing skywards and numismatics is another area where it has made its presence felt. And guess what? The Ceilings of Heaven 5$ Silver Coin was minted for Cook Islands in 2012 using nano technology!

Michelangelo's masterpiece, the Sistine Chapel ceiling, is entirely depicted on the Nano Chip which is embedded in the coin. The chip is the size of a fingernail and a very high resolution image is engraved using microelectronics technology on an ultra-planar Nano Chip. Utmost care needs to be taken to produce these kinds of coins in a dust free environment out of high purity quartz in extreme vacuum.

There are only 999 pieces of this coin which celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling. The Nano Chip embedded in the coin amazingly reproduces all details visible in full under a microscope. The antique finish and the deep relief complete this masterpiece and make this coin unique. The obverse of each coin bears the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II.