Germania Mint detours into space with a silver medal celebration of Gagarin’s first orbit and we have our images

Having built a fine range of bullion and numismatic releases around the concept of the ancient region of Germania, the Germania Mint is spreading its wings with the debut of as ‘Red Star’ medallion series. The theme of this one should be of huge interest given there appears to be a rennaissance in spaceflight these days – the history of the Soviet space program.

There’s little argument that the Soviet push into space was a crucial element of mans faltering first steps to leave the confines of our planet. The bravery shown by the men involved was of the highest order, and many paid the ultimate price. Gagarin was lucky to get back after his record breaking flight, but was to perish just seven years later in a plane crash.

The coin has for its reverse face a composition comprised of Gagarin in his spacesuit, the Vostok-1 that carried him to orbit, and a stylised Earth and starfield in the background. The Cyrillic script reads ‘Gagarin – the first man in space’. It’s a very attractive mix of elements, especially for a bullion release. The obverse is classic Soviet imagery, with the famous ‘hammer & sickle’ overlaid on the Earth, and the medals composition cleverly incorporated into the State Emblem of the Soviet Union, along with ’10 Victories’ – a fictional denomination.

As well as the straight up bullion version, there’s a very pretty variant limited to just 607 pieces, that employs many of the techniques that Kurowski Metals have spent years perfecting. There’s palladium and ruthenium plating, yellow gold gilding, and their proprietary Space Red finish. It sounds a bit overpowering when written down, but it actually ties in perfectly with Soviet imagery – they loved a bit of red and gold!!

Both coins are an ounce in weight, and struck in 0.9999 silver. The base version has a mintage of 15,000 pieces and is the one we have here. I’ve added some images of our own to the mix, as we know collectors like to see real-world pictures, even though the Germania ones are first class. It’s a cracking piece, and of a subject rarely seen on silver bullion. Available to order any time now, it’s a great debut for a series that shows a lot of promise.

THE FIRST MANNED ORBIT OF THE EARTH

Instantly becoming one of the most famous humans in history, and likely to remain so for centuries to come, Yuri Gagarin strapped himself into a crude metal capsule perched atop tons of explosive fuel, in what will go down as an epic example of human ingenuity and courage. It was from Baikonur Cosmodrome on April 12, 1961 that Vostok 1 lifted off and powered its way into Earth orbit with just a solitary human being on board.

By the standards of today, when pilotless shuttles spend months in space, Gagarin’s single orbit of our Blue Planet seems a small thing, lasting just 108 minutes from take-off to touchdown, but to a species that had never left this ball of rock, it was a first step into the future. Amazingly, Gagarin didn’t land in the capsule, but bailed out around 7 km up, coming down the rest of the way by parachute.

The capsule was actually called Vostok-3a, and sat atop a Vostok-K rocket. It weighed 4,725 kg at launch, and a little over half that on rreturn. As for Gagarin, this was his only mission, being banned from further attempts after the death of another Cosmonaut. The Soviet government did not want to lose its hero. Sadly, five weeks after being given permission to fly regular aircraft, Gagarin was killed when the MiG-15 he was in, crashed.