Numiscollects latest in its long running Sacred Art series of silver coins has come forth and it’s of a location well known throughout the world. The Piazza dei Miracoli is a walled architectural complex in Pisa, Italy. From the locale you can probably guess it garnered its fame from the main attraction on the site, the Leaning Tower of Pisa. There’s much more there than a tower, the site having a huge religious significance. Amongst the four religious buildings on the site, the biggest is Pisa Cathedral and it’s this structure that serves as the main focus of the tenth Sacred Art coin.

The architect Buscheto began construction of this medieval cathedral of the Archdiocese of Pisa back in 1064. The builder was a master named Rainaldo, an inscription above the middle door: Rainaldus prudens operator indicating as much. A great fire in 1595 destroyed much of the Renaissance artwork that adorned the interior, including the tomb of Pope Gregory VIII. Quickly restored, the current building is a fine example of its type. The interior carries a large stained glass window at one end made of both potash and soda glass. It depicts the Virgin Mary and is the centrepiece of this new coin.

Sacred Art, also known as Holy Windows, has as its centrepiece a depiction in miniature of a stained-glass window in one of the major churches in the world. It’s an excellent change from the amber, agate and other minerals that often fill windows in the numerous ranges of art-architectural coins on the market today. Large for the coin, even at 50g, they fit the diamond shape very well and contain an extraordinary amount of detail for their size. Surrounding the window is something considerably more common in this genre, antique finish details struck into the silver. Sacred Art has always placed its greatest emphasis on the window, and while the design in the metal has always been first-class, it has never really pushed numismatic boundaries. Not so here.

This tenth coin in the series has debuted with what Numiscollect call HiRe, but you’ll know better this year as smartminting. Given how much of the coin is given over to the window, the level of relief displayed here is quite brilliant. Also for the first time, the coin has moved from sterling (0.925) to fine (0.999) silver, I’d guess the softer fine silver is a touch more amenable to being struck with this level of fine detail and high relief. The reverse face benefits most. The depiction of the leaning tower and the statue is very high, showing an impressive degree of prominence. The rest is a fine look at the building exterior, even the clouds and grass done with extreme clarity.

The obverse shows a look down the interior of the cathedral, the perspective being very well judged. Being issued for Palau, the obverse also carries that states shield emblem with its aquatic connotations, one of the better ones out there. It will come boxed and with a Certificate of Authenticity.

Sacred Art 10: Pisa Cathedral has a mintage of 999 pieces and will ship late October/early November. This coin represents a big jump for the series genuinely challenging Tiffany Art and Mineral Arts (amongst others) at the top of the genre. These coins usually sell for around the €150-200 mark.

The 10th issue marks a new era in the series. With ultra high relief HiRe minting in 999 silver the relief comes out of the coin. A window inserted with a beautiful image of Maria.

The Piazza dei Miracoli, formally known as Piazza del Duomo, is a walled 8.87-hectare area located in Pisa, Tuscany, Italy, recognized as an important center of European medieval art and one of the finest architectural complexes in the world. Considered sacred by the Catholic Church, its owner, the square is dominated by four great religious edifices: the Pisa Cathedral, the Pisa Baptistry, the Campanile, and the Camposanto Monumentale.

Key Selling Points: New HiRe minting; now pure silver, Including a real miniature of the glass, Antique finish combined with a color window, Very limited mintage