CIT showcases the latest evolution of their industry-defining smartminting. Iron Knight pushes high-relief detailing to new levels.

It was in 2016 that CIT, and German mint BH Mayer, debuted their jointly developed proprietary ‘Smartminting’ technology to the public. Its most impressive example back then was a gorgeous design called ‘The Great Tea Race of 1886’, one bringing to life the sailing ships of the mid-late 19th century. Since then, smartminting has become one of the most famous, and widely respected techniques in modern minting.

While the ins-and-outs of the process are a trade secret, the process basically allows for levels of high-relief not generally seen in a coin strike, but which also maintain a remarkable ability to hold detail and definition. The process continued to evolve, with ‘Smartminting Reloaded’ bringing high-relief goodness to both faces simultaneously. Now we have ‘Smartminting 4.0’, with relief to unprecedented levels.

Showing off their new process is a one-off coin weighing in at five ounces, simply called ‘Iron Knight’. It’s a classic design of the genre, depicting a medieval armoured warrior, fully decked out with shield and arms, almost striding out of the coin face. In the background is an equally classic Germanic-style castle. The figure is the star, however, and the gallery below should demonstrate why that is. Huge levels of relief (at 9mm, around double the actual coin body thickness) are impressive enough, but the detailing on that relief is quite extraordinary.

Look at the shield face, the chain mail on the legs and arms, and the riveting on the armour. Even the castle walls in the background are finely detailed. I’m probably being a little unfair, calling this a tech demo, as it’s a cool looking coin in its own right, but if CIT wanted to design a coin simply to showcase the new incarnation of smartminting, they couldn’t have done a better job, and it bodes well for the future.

The coin comes boxed with a Certificate of Authenticity, of course, and has a mintage of 555 pieces. Sadly, it’s only available as a five-ounce coin at the moment, so out of budget for many, but if you can afford it, this one is an easy recommendation from us. Enjoy the gallery below.