MDM celebrates two centuries of public railways with a silver coin filled with inventive ideas

German producer, MDM, has debuted their Spring offensive, and the first of them we’re looking at is this neat coin celebrating 200 years since the first public steam railway opened. It was on 27 September 1825 that the Stockton and Darlington Railway, situated in northeast England, began operations, and by the time it was merged with North Eastern Railways in 1863, it utilised 160 locomotives, over 320 km of routes. The engineering was overseen by the George Stephenson, and his legendary son, Robert, the latter often considered the 19th centuries greatest engineer. Many innovations were associated with this project, such as malleable iron rails, and it helped cement the reality of mass rail transport in the early decades of the Industrial Revolution. The first steam train, Locomotion No.1, can still be seen at the Locomotion Museum, in County Durham.

MDM have decided to mark the bicentenary with a ten-ounce silver coin, sporting an impressive 80 mm diameter. Antique-finished, it depicts a later steam locomotive, running at speed, through a mountainous terrain, with an eagle in flight in the background. It’s a good-looking scene, although links to the Stockton & Darlington Railway are tenuous at best, as this has more of a mid-US, late 1800s, feel to it. The way the train extends past the round coin edge is a nice touch, as is the train track border pattern.

The highlight here will be the ‘200’ detail in the coin’s top half. The ‘2’ is filled with mechanical gearing, but the two zeroes are filled with a pair of linked train wheels, coloured red, and with gilded mechanics. These are actually moveable, making it a clever homage to the subject. The obverse is excellent, depicting six locomotives against a mountainous background, arranged in a border. Locomotion No.1 sits at the top, and the train on the reverse is also one of them. What this suggests as to possible future releases is unclear. This one comes presented in a tin, with a themed certificate of authenticity, and has a mintage capped at 200 pieces.