You’ll either be hot or cold on the Perth Mint’s thermometer adorned antiqued silver coin

Now one of the Perth Mint’s most popular coin types, the two-ounce antiqued silver format that debuted with the Gods of Olympus series a few years ago seems to attract a new design every couple of months. Currently used for their new ‘Warfare’ series (second coin coming next month), it’s the eclectic range with embedded items in the centre to which this new release belongs.

A few unusual designs have appeared in this range in recent years. A pretty cool Alice in Wonderland anniversary issue was an early entrant, and we’ve seen compass, pearl and yin-yang designs in the meantime, all of which were very well done. Todays issue is very close to the compass coin in concept and comprises a themed design surrounding an inset, functioning thermometer, although the mint does suggest it isn’t one to be relied on for accuracy. Both sides are filled with Mesoamerican (Aztec) design elements with even the obligatory effigy of Queen Elizabeth II being considerably reduced in size on the obverse.

Packaging looks good – comprising a latex ‘floating frame’ in a nice themed shipper box and a certificate of authenticity is enclosed. It’s a good-looking piece by Lucas Bowers and will make a fine addition for collectors of this loosely defined series. The price is set at $229.00 AUD and the mintage is capped at 2,500 pieces. Available now, if you use the link at the bottom if you want to buy AgAuNEWS will get a small commission.

MINTS DESCRIPTION

Essential for meteorology, medicine, industry and scientific research, thermometers are not the result of a single invention but an evolution spanning about 2,000 years. While thermometers’ exact origins are unknown, several historians have credited the first instrument for measuring temperature to Hero of Alexandria, who lived circa 10-70 AD in Egypt.

A people who worshiped gods affecting temperature were the Aztecs, whose civilization flourished in central Mexico before the Spanish conquest. The story of Itztlacoliuhqui, the god of frost and cold, appears in an Aztec myth of creation. Tonatiuh, the Sun god, demanded obedience and sacrifice from the other gods before he would move. Infuriated by his arrogance, the Lord of Dawn and morning star Venus, Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, shot an arrow at the Sun. However he missed his target and the Sun threw his own arrow back, piercing Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli through the head and transforming him into Itztlacoliuhqui.

DESIGN: Featuring an antiqued finish, the coin is inset with an operational dial thermometer including both Celcius and Fahrenheit scales. The thermometer’s face portrays an Aztec-style sun in the middle.

The thermometer is surrounded by Aztec-style patterns and iconography based on the circular Aztec agricultural, or solar, calendar. The fire-breathing sun god Tonatiuh is represented at the top holding an arrow in one hand, a flaming torch the other and wearing flame earrings. At the bottom is Itztlacoliuhqui, the god of frost and cold, breathing frost and carrying an arrow. On the left, or cold side of the thermometer dial is an Aztec, or Mesoarmerican, stylisation of a snowflake. Opposite is a similarly styled depiction of the sun’s rays. The reverse also incorporates The Perth Mint’s traditional ‘P’ mintmark.

The coin’s obverse reveals the thermometer’s sensor which is encircled by Aztec-style patterning, the Ian RankBroadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, monetary denomination and the 2018 year-date.

Each coin is presented in a classic grey display case, within a stylised shipper, and is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity.