Minigold version of superb Eye of Horus coin finally debuts with bigger diameter.

One of the very best of the architectural coins on the market, the Egyptian Symbols coins are beautiful examples of the large antique-finished numismatics that are a staple of the modern market. Featuring some of the potent iconography associated with this ancient civilisation, overlaid across some of the amazing art and architectural achievements of this multi-millenia old culture, the coins have always been different enough to have an added appeal of their own.

Early this year saw the release of the second three-ounce silver coin, but despite it now being December 2016, the minigold version of this 2015 design has only just appeared. Minigold coins, those of 0.5 grams in weight, have grown in popularity greatly over the last few years, with an ever broader range of designs, many solo efforts, but increasingly in series, often associated with a larger companion silver coin. In most cases the minigold coin has simplified, or even completely new artwork made necessary by the tiny 11mm diameter that is typical of the format. Not so here.

This year has seen the debut of a ground-breaking minting technique called smartminting, pioneered by top-tier coin producer Coin Invest Trust, and the outstanding German mint, BH Mayer. The more recent gold version of smartminting, called BGM (Big Gold Minting), has meant that hitherto unknown levels of detail can be struck into relatively tiny amounts of gold but with increased diameters. The use here has allowed the coin diameter to rise from 11mm to almost 14mm and yet still capture almost all the detail of the big silver format. That doesn’t sound like a big jump in size, but it’s actually a surface area increase from 95²mm to 153²mm, a rise of over 60%.

The design features the Eye of Horus, the pyramids, temples and statues, surrounded by symbols and inscriptions. It’s impressive for the size. The obverse design hasn’t carried over, quite understandable as the issuer and denomination sits here and they’d be unreadable if the silver obverse had been similarly scaled down to fit this one. The coin comes encapsulated and with a certificate of authenticity, but without a box. For those that have the silver coin, there’s a place inside that box to put this one. Shipping in 2-3 weeks, the price is just shy of €70 and the mintage is set at 5,000.