The mad genius of the artist, Salvador Dali, is brought to numismatic life with Art Mint’s iconic melting clock coin

The Spanish artist, Salvador Dali, is not only one of the most innovative of the 20th century, but also one of the weirdest. A member of the surrealist movement, some of his works bend reality, almost as if he was bringing to life a hallucinogenic experience. They’ve certainly inspired original interpretations in other artists, as well as inspiring countless homages in other genres.

The latest of them is in our own world, and emanates from the Parisian producer, Art Mint. Taking Dali’s seminal 1931 work, The Persistence of Memory as its inspiration, it takes one of the central elements of it, the melting clock, and gives it numismatic life. The painting, held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, was said to be an unconscious symbol of the relativity of space and time (Dali was a contemporary of Einstein), but Dali denied it, claiming it was simply the surrealist perception of Camembert melting in the sun. Like I said, weird. Whatever the case, it’s a startlingly off-beat work, and it’s no surprise it gained cult status.

The coin takes the central them of those melting clocks and gives us a very cool 1.5 ounce silver coin. This isn’t a direct copy of anything in the painting. The shape is unique, as is the use of Roman numerals on the face, but the inspiration is clear. The warped nature of the coin is the perfect homage, and a unique coin in its own right.

There are two variants of the coin, and both have very small mintages for this weight class. The antique-finished coin, my favourite, tops out at 400 pieces, and the gilded version (we just have renders at present), an exceptionally low 100 pieces. Both will come boxed with a CoA, and they have the serial number engraved on the edge. A great looking coin, celebrating one of the most iconic works, of one of the most iconic artists. Available to order now.