Moneda Nueva launches a superb Roswell UFO anniversary silver coin. Or is it a weather balloon….
Just a few days after we covered Art Mints’s new Roswell 70th anniversary coin (already sold out at the mint), comes a second, bigger silver coin covering this enigmatic landmark event in conspiracy lore. This time the honours are being done by Spanish coin-producer, Moneda Nueva, previously noted for their superb one-kilo architectural coins like Angkor Wat and theTaj Mahal, amongst others.
You can read more about Roswell in the earlier article so let’s have a look at the coin. Conspiracy theories this popular always churn up a rich seam of material and Roswell is certainly no exception – quite the opposite in fact. The two overriding elements to come from the ‘event’ are the crashed flying saucer and the ‘little grey men’ aliens. Both elements are heavily featured on this new coin, one struck in 3 oz of sterling silver and antique finished.
The reverse side depicts the face most widely associated with the Roswell aliens, one with large dark eyes and small other features. A superb rendition, the antique finish looks perfect and the lack of background throws the face into sharp relief. The eyes glow in the dark, something we imagine would look pretty cool on this. Just the inscription ‘ROSWELL 1947’ is located here and it’s kept off the aliens face. The obverse features the other iconic image associated with Roswell, the crashed spacecraft. Looking as if it had just ploughed into the ground at high speed, it yet again shows a high standard of design. The issuer, date and denomination are inscribed here.
The coin is presented in one of the latex-skinned ‘floating’ frames that we like here and there seems to be a themed insert to surround it. A certificate of authenticity that’s designed to look like the newspaper that reported the incident initially is also included. Everything is packed in a purple shipper box. Expected to cost a touch under €400 and ship at the end of August, the mintage is limited to 500 pieces. We love this one and it looks like Roswell is going to be remembered in some style if the first two coins to feature it are any indication.
2017 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF ROSWELL INCIDENT SILVER COIN
THE 1947 ROSWELL INCIDENT
In mid-1947, a United States Air Force balloon crashed at a ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. Following wide initial interest in the crashed “flying disc”, the US military stated that it was merely a conventional weather balloon. Interest subsequently waned until the late 1970s, when ufologists began promoting a variety of increasingly elaborate conspiracy theories, claiming that one or more alien spacecraft had crash-landed, and that the extraterrestrial occupants had been recovered by the military, who then engaged in a cover-up.
In the 1990s, the US military published two reports disclosing the true nature of the crashed object: a nuclear test surveillance balloon from Project Mogul. Nevertheless, the Roswell incident continues to be of interest in popular media, and conspiracy theories surrounding the event persist. Roswell has been described as “the world’s most famous, most exhaustively investigated, and most thoroughly debunked UFO claim”.
The sequence of events was triggered by the crash of a Project Mogul balloon near Roswell. On July 8, 1947, Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF) public information officer Walter Haut issued a press release stating that personnel from the field’s 509th Operations Group had recovered a “flying disc”, which had crashed on a ranch near Roswell.
The military decided to conceal the true purpose of the crashed device – nuclear test monitoring – and instead inform the public that the crash was of a weather balloon. Later that day, the press reported that Commanding General of the Eighth Air Force Roger Ramey had stated that a weather balloon was recovered by the RAAF personnel. A press conference was held, featuring debris (foil, rubber and wood) said to be from the crashed object, which matched the weather balloon description. Historian Robert Goldberg wrote that the intended effect was achieved: “the story died the next day”. Source: Wikipedia
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CERTIFICATE AND DISPLAY FRAME
SPECIFICATION
| NAME | 2017Â SILVER |
| DENOMINATION | 3,000 Francs CFA |
| COMPOSITION | 0.925 silver |
| WEIGHT | 93.3 grams |
| DIAMETER | 55.00 mm |
| FINISH | Antique |
| MODIFICATIONS | Glow in the dark, High-relief |
| MINTAGE | 500 |
| BOX / COA | Yes / Yes |
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