World Exclusive! The Great Khan gatecrashes the Mint of Poland’s mythology range with some hard history

The Mint of Poland continues, albeit at a slightly slower rate, to flesh out its stunning collection of antiqued high-relief coins featuring various aspects of the ancient world. One of the finest range of designs in modern numismatics, it’s nevertheless becoming harder and harder to differentiate between the various series. One aspect of the ancient and medieval world that hasn’t had much coverage is really quite surprising – actual history.

No such shortcomings here. Chinggis, or Genghis, Khan was a very real part of history. Indeed, there can be few individuals that have had as much influence on world history, or were so feared in their lifetimes. We’ve seen a Spartacus coin as part of the Great Commanders series – actually, it’s currently the entirety of that series – and the excellent Nizari Assassins is also a look at the real world, but most are firmly entrenched in the fantastical world of gods and beasts. This is a nice change.

It’s at this point that we usually say how much we like the design, the level of detail and relief, and the overall integrity of the coin. Well, we’re doing that again. A very dynamic look, tons of neat touches (heads in a bag for that post-slaughter evening of beer and bowling…), and impressive levels of well defined relief put this one up with the best of the mints output. Everyone will have their favourites, of course, and a quick look at our Thematic Guide to the range should give you a great idea at just how strong the competition is.

This is an early look and we don’t have obverse images yet, but as with prior issues, these renders give a great indication of the finished article. For those unfamiliar with the format, it’s a 2oz, rimless, 0.999 silver coin with an antique finish, issued for Niue, and with some subtle modifications, in this case the gilded sword. A beautiful release from Pela Coins for a subject I find fascinating. Shipping should commence around the end of October, and the mintage is set at 555 pieces.

MINTS DESCRIPTION

Genghis Khan (born Temüjin, c. 1162 – August 18, 1227], was the founder and first Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death. He came to power by uniting many of the nomadic tribes of Northeast Asia. After founding the Empire and being proclaimed “Genghis Khan”, he launched the Mongol invasions that conquered most of Eurasia. Campaigns initiated in his lifetime include those against the Qara Khitai, Caucasus, and Khwarazmian, Western Xia and Jin dynasties. These campaigns were often accompanied by large-scale massacres of the civilian populations – especially in the Khwarazmian and Western Xia controlled lands. By the end of his life, the Mongol Empire occupied a substantial portion of Central Asia and China.

Before Genghis Khan died he assigned Ögedei Khan as his successor. Later his grandsons split his empire into khanates. Genghis Khan died in 1227 after defeating the Western Xia. By his request, his body was buried in an unmarked grave somewhere in Mongolia. His descendants extended the Mongol Empire across most of Eurasia by conquering or creating vassal states in all of modern-day China, Korea, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and substantial portions of Eastern Europe and Southwest Asia. Many of these invasions repeated the earlier large-scale slaughters of local populations. As a result, Genghis Khan and his empire have a fearsome reputation in local histories.

Beyond his military accomplishments, Genghis Khan also advanced the Mongol Empire in other ways. He decreed the adoption of the Uyghur script as the Mongol Empire’s writing system. He also practiced meritocracy and encouraged religious tolerance in the Mongol Empire, and unified the nomadic tribes of Northeast Asia. Present-day Mongolians regard him as the founding father of Mongolia.

Genghis Khan was known for the brutality of his campaigns, and is considered by many to have been a genocidal ruler. However, he is also credited with bringing the Silk Road under one cohesive political environment. This brought relatively easy communication and trade between Northeast Asia, Muslim Southwest Asia, and Christian Europe, expanding the cultural horizons of all three areas.