The elephant-headed Hindu deity Ganesha demonstrates the talents of CIT’s smartminting

Despite the burgeoning size of the ancient mythology genre in modern numismatics, the pantheon of gods from the Indian subcontinent is quite under-represented. That’s quite an anomaly given they’re full of fascinating tales and esoteric characters – the equal of those found anywhere else – and India itself loves the precious metals. The Mint of Poland has recently stepped into this pond, although they were beaten to the punch by CIT Coin Invest who, for the second year running, are issuing one of their impressive dimensional coins.

Last year saw the issue for Mongolia of a 3oz Shakyamuni Buddha dimensional coin that presented the seated deity in gilded silver, and this year CIT have followed that with Lord Ganesha, albeit now coming from the Cook islands. The basic style and specification remain the same, but there’s a clear increase in the quality and quantity of high-relief detail on this years effort, perhaps an indicator of the maturing of the smartminting technique.

Ganesha is a striking looking deity. Elephant-headed and covered with adornments, Ganesha appears to be a tougher subject to pull off, but pull it off they certainly have. Also gilded, this is a fine example of just what dimensional smartminting is capable of. The coin is flat on the back, which carries all the issue details you would expect to find on a typical obverse face.

Neatly packaged and available to order now, just 501 will be struck and it comes nicely boxed and with a certificate of authenticity. If you like the dimensional nature of the coin but not the subject, CIT, and Numiscollect, have other coins of equally high quality that are well worth checking out.

MINTS DESCRIPTION

Ganesha is a Hindu deity widely regarded as the remover of obstacles. His characteristic elephant head makes him instantly recognizable and revered across South Asia and many religions including Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. Customarily, a small mouse accompanies Ganesha as his Vahana or vehicle.

The astonishing gilded sculpture of Lord Ganesha resembles CIT’s Shakyamuni Buddha issued in 2018. Like its predecessor, Ganesha is limited to only 501 pieces and struck in refined smartminting relief from approximately three ounces of fine silver. However, the complex shape and abundant details demonstrate the next step of minting performance.

The coins are individually numbered and issued for the Cook Islands.

SPECIFICATION
DENOMINATION $20 CID (Cook Islands)
COMPOSITION 0.999 silver
WEIGHT approx 93.3 grams
DIMENSIONS 38 x 51 mm
FINISH Silk
MODIFICATIONS Gilded, Smartminted ultra high relief
MINTAGE 501
BOX / COA Yes / Yes