Fidel Castro joins Chinggis Khan. CIT smartmint the Cuban leader on a Mongolian proof silver coin

A look at a coin we didn’t cover on its debut at the Berlin World Money Fair earlier this year, Coin Invest Trust’s Fidel Castro coin is the spritual successor to their revised Chinggis Khan coin from 2016. Carrying on with a design that takes advantage of CIT’s outstanding SmartMinting technology, Fidel Castro is also issued for Mongolia, a country that CIT have a long history of association with.

Struck in an ounce of fine 0.999 silver to a proof finish, the obverse design is pretty much the same as all the Mongolian coins that CIT have produced going right back to the multi award-winning Wildlife Protection series. Other than the date, all the usual inscriptions are carried on this face where they should be along with the mblem of this Central Asian country.

The reverse face is also identical in concept to the 2016 coin, depicting a portrait of Fidel Castro struck in well detailed high-relief and with some dark colouring used to enhance shade and feature. This isn’t a slap on paint job, but a genuine enhancement used with subtlety. Castro’s name in English and Mongolian is inscribed in a custom font, and the date is also placed at the bottom. The star from the Cuban flag sits prominently on the proof background. The high-relief on this one is just as good as on the 2016 Chinggis Khan coin, but it does appear to be lower. That’s because the Khan design was based on a stylised statue of the Mongolian icon that had exaggerated angles and a lowere level of fine detail. Castro displays a huge amount of detail and CIT are to be commended for the quality of the portrait.

Supplied in a themed version of CIT’s usual wooden box, we’re big fans of this coin and also of Chinggis Khan from last year. A 0.5g minigold coin is also available exhibiting an extraordinary amount of detail for the miniscule format. Available now, they’re available from several of our sponsors including Coins Boutique, Powercoin, and Minted-UK who kindly provided us with a coin to shoot for the video below.

2017 FIDEL CASTRO PROOF SILVER COIN

2017 FIDEL CASTRO

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (August 13, 1926 – November 25, 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who governed the Republic of Cuba as Prime Minister from 1959 to 1976 and then as President from 1976 to 2008. Politically a Marxist–Leninist and Cuban nationalist, he also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1961 until 2011. Under his administration, Cuba became a one-party socialist state; industry and business were nationalized, and state socialist reforms were implemented throughout society.

Castro is a polarizing world figure. His supporters view him as a champion of socialism and anti-imperialism whose revolutionary regime advanced economic and social justice while securing Cuba’s independence from American imperialism. Critics view him as a dictator whose administration oversaw human-rights abuses, the exodus of a large number of Cubans, and the impoverishment of the country’s economy. He was decorated with various international awards and significantly influenced various individuals and groups across the world. (Source: Wikipedia)

2017 FIDEL CASTRO COIN BOX, 2016 CHINGGIS KHAN COIN

MINTS DESCRIPTION: To commemorate Cuban revolutionary and political leader Fidel Castro, who died on 25 November 2016, Mongolia has issued an appealing coin set with a classic design, minted with state-of-the-art technology. The design is based on the coin’s predecessors the Chinggis Khaan issues of 2014 and 2016. Much like the latter version, Fidel Castro’s portrait is struck in an impressive smartminting© high relief. A hint of color is once again applied to accentuate facial features and darken shadows.

The gold coin presented alongside the silver issue nearly mirrors it in design. Thanks to CIT’s Big Gold Minting© process, the size of the gold coin increased from 11 mm to 13.92 mm while at the same time retaining relief height and detail.

SPECIFICATION

NAME 2017 FIDEL CASTRO
DENOMINATION 1,000 Togrog
COMPOSITION 0.999 Silver
WEIGHT 31.1 grams
DIAMETER 38.61mm
FINISH Proof
MODIFICATIONS Colour, SmartMinting
MINTAGE 1,000
BOX / COA Yes / Yes