2016 AMAR SAGAR

This time our silver-journey through the history of art leads us to the Indian state Rajasthan. The Jaina architecture provides an abundance of magnificent, elaborate structures in finest stonemasonry labour. The 12th Tiffany Art edition shows a grave of honour in the form of a dome shaped pavilion, called Chhatri, on the Gadi Sagar Lake.

The reverse side provides us a peek into the atrium of the temple Adeshwar Nath at Jaisalmer. It is Parshvanata sanctified who was one of the founders of Jainism. Both sides have blue glass windows and a perfect blend of unbelievable relief height and finest details. It is a pity that only a few pieces are available …

2017 DECORATED GOTHIC

The Tiffany Art collection is undoubtedly one of the most successful modern coin series in the world with five awards to its name and numerous spin-off series attempting to imitate the exceptional mix of minting perfection and aesthetics. Now in its thirteenth year, CIT’s most anticipated coin presents the Lady Chapel and Chapter House of Wells Cathedral, built around 1310. The interior design is often times regarded as England’s most beautiful example of the decorated gothic architectural style.

Customary since 2014, the traditional and much beloved 2 oz coin is flanked by an imposing 1 kg counterpart. The intricate detail and masterful strike require utmost care and expertise in die preparation which may last over one week for one side alone.

2018 ORIENTALISM

The Tiffany Art collection is undoubtedly one of the most successful modern coin series in the world with five awards to its name and numerous spin-off series attempting to imitate the exceptional mix of minting perfection and aesthetics. The highly anticipated CIT classic is now in its fourteenth year introducing the Italian Castle of Sammezzano and its orienatlist architecture.

Customary since 2014, the traditional and much beloved 2 oz coin is again flanked by an imposing 1 kg counterpart. The intricate detail and masterful strike require utmost care and expertise in die preparation which may last over one week for one side alone.

2019 ANGKOR

In Khmer architecture, the period of Angkor is the period in the history of the Khmer Empire from approximately the later half of the 8th century CE to the first half of the 15th century CE.

In any study of Angkorian architecture, the emphasis is necessarily on religious architecture, since all the remaining Angkorian buildings are religious in nature. During the period of Angkor, only temples and other religious buildings were constructed of stone. Non-religious buildings such as dwellings were constructed of perishable materials such as wood, and so have not survived.

The 12th-century temple of Angkor Wat is the masterpiece of Angkorian architecture. Constructed under the direction of the Khmer king Suryavarman II, it was to serve as the monarch’s personal mausoleum and as a temple to the Hindu god Vishnu. Based on Dravidian architecture, it was designed as a pyramid representing the structure of the universe: the highest level at the center of the temple represented Mount Meru, the home of the Hindu gods, with the five towers on the highest level representing the five peaks of the mountain. The broad moat around the complex represented the oceans that surround the world.

2020 ISFAHAN

Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque is one of the architectural masterpieces of Iranian architecture that was built during the Safavid Empire, standing on the eastern side of Naqsh-i Jahan Square, Esfahan, Iran. Construction of the mosque started in 1603 and was finished in 1619. It was built by the chief architect Shaykh Bahai, during the reign of Shah Abbas I of Persia. On the advice of Arthur Upham Pope, Reza Shah Pahlavi had the mosque rebuilt and repaired in the 1920s.

Of the four monuments that dominated the perimeter of the Naqsh-e Jahan Square, this one was the first to be built.

The purpose of this mosque was for it to be private to the royal court (unlike the Shah Mosque, which was meant for the public). For this reason, the mosque does not have any minarets and is smaller. Indeed, few Westerners at the time of the Safavids even paid any attention to this mosque, and they certainly did not have access to it. It was not until centuries later, when the doors were opened to the public, that ordinary people could admire the effort that Shah Abbas had put into making this a sacred place for the ladies of his harem, and the exquisite tile-work, which is far superior to that covering the Shah Mosque.

The entrance gateway, like those of the Grand Bazaar and the Masjed-e Shah, was a recessed half-moon. Also, as in the Masjed-e Shah, the lower façade of the mosque and the gateway are constructed of marble, while the haft-rangi tiles (Persian: هفت‌رنگی, lit. “seven-coloured”, “polychrome mosaics”) decorate the upper parts of the structure. The creation of the calligraphy and tiles, which exceed, in both beauty and quality, anything previously created in the Islamic world, was overseen by Master calligrapher Ali Reza Abbasi.

The monument’s architect was Mohammad-Reza Isfahani, who solved the problem of the difference between the direction of qibla and gateway of the building by devising an L-shaped connecting vestibule between the entrance and the enclosure. Reza Abbasi’s inscription on the entry gateway gives the date of the start of construction. The north-south orientation of the Maydan does not agree with south-west direction of qibla; it is set at 45 degrees to it.[9] This feature, called pāshnah in Persian architecture, has caused the dome to stand not exactly behind the entrance iwan . Its single-shell dome is 13 metres in diameter. The exterior side is richly covered with tiles. (WIKIPEDIA)

2020 ISFAHAN ANA VARIANTS

It was with some surprise that we saw the issue of a new pair of variants for the last design in the Tiffany series – the 2020 Isfahan. As the last edition, it’s a fair enough idea and not an indicator that the series is about to be revisited to death, annoying collectors of the originals in the process. These seem to be a final tribute to one of modern numismatics most important and widely lauded series, as well as, perhaps, a test for the response to the new finishes on offer.

A ‘Black Proof’ version of five ounces in weight, and a proof variant of three ounces, make up the new pair of offerings and both are the first time such finishes have been applied to the normally antiqued Tiffany range.The basic design is unchanged, although sadly, the rimless format used since inception, has given way to a standard coin rim. It has to have been a style decision as CIT’s smartminting, recently enhanced, is easily capable of this level of strike. We hope this isn’t the norm going forward, as rimless coins like this look better. Regardless of that, these are still beautiful coins and make a nice ending to an epic series.