It’s St. Georges Day and PMC issues a striking copper-cored coin of the legendary dragon slayer

It’s April 23rd, which means St.Georges Day (and the 56th Mik’s day…), so what better way to celebrate than a striking new entrant into Precious Metal Collector’s ‘Spectre’ range of copper cored coins. For those unfamiliar with the concept, copper-cored coins are exactly what the name suggests. A large copper blank is covered in a smaller amount of fine silver, then struck. The resulting coin appears to be silver, but is huge for the suggested weight.

This is one of their more popular formats, comprised of two ounces of silver on an 11.5 ounce copper core. As a result, and despite this weight of silver generally producing a high-relief coin with a diameter of 45 mm, it hits a really impressive 80 mm. To put that in perspective, that’s a surface area increase per side, from under 1600 sq.mm, to over 5,000 sq.mm.

The design will be gorgeous as it’s based on British Royal Mint Chief Engraver William Wyon’s 19th century depiction. Wyon was an exceptional talent, which the Royal Mint is using for its own range at present, and this was one of his best. The high-relief treatment is going to look great, although we’re disappointed that the official images are less than stellar – unusual for this mint, whose images are usually top notch.

The coin has a proof finish, instead of the more common antique finish that most of these coins employ, so that’s a nice change, but it remains issued for the Republic of Chad and thus carries that African nations coat of arms on the obverse. Limited to 500 pieces and with a price around $400 USD, it’s an impressive release. No images of the packaging, but it will be well done if prior issues are a reliable indicator. Available to pre-order now.

MINTS DESCRIPTION

The patron saint of multiple cities including England, Saint George was a devout Roman soldier who was widely respected for his faith in religion and heroic traits of bravery. Saint George became a martyr when he refused to renounce his faith and prosecute fellow Christians during his time of service in the Roman army. The legend of Saint George slaying the dragon has been told in multiple variations, but they all begin with the same plot of how Saint George happened to pass through a town that was terrorized by a vicious dragon. Upon knowing that a princess was soon to be sacrificed to the dragon to appease it, Saint George entered the town without hesitation and killed the dragon bravely.

This piece references closely from William Wyon’s interpretation of this heroic act, which was commissioned by Prince Albert for a medal in 1844. Saint George rides a rearing horse, as he lifts his hands and spears the dragon with strength and valour. The chiselled lines on his body are defined and stand out with incredible detail, contrasting against the textures of the scales on the dragon’s body. The obverse features the legal tender, the Coat of Arms du Tchad.