2016-2022 THE SEVEN SUMMITS by CIT Coin Invest

Between 2009 and 2016, CIT issued an interesting range of coins called Mountains and Flora. A simple sterling (0.925) silver coin of 20 grams in weight, with some colour highlighting, these were one of CIT’s basic ranges, long since fallen by the wayside. Certainly popular enough – there were 61 issues! – their main attraction was the intriguing subject matter. In amongst the selection was a sub-set (sporting a privy mark), called The 7 Summits.

The 7 Summits include the highest peak on each of the seven continents and it’s considered a real achievement to have ascended them all, very few having achieved it. The task was first completed in 1985 by Richard Bass. CIT have decided to revisit this sub-set with a flagship series utilising all the benefits of their latest Smartminting technology, and the upgrade in the finished product is quite astonishing.

The first of the seven issues dropped in 2016 and set the tone for those to follow. An aerial view of the mountain is straightforward enough, but it employed a finely detailed ultra high relief strike to give the depiction much dimensionality. As the years have progressed, the level of relief has increased while fully maintaining the detail we’ve come to expect from this cutting edge coin producer. This reached a peak (no pun intended…) in early 2020 when they launched their new enhanced Smartminting. The Carstensz Pyramid is depicted in full relief and is a fine example of just what Smartminting can achieve, especially when enhanced with a little colour to exaggerate depth and shadow.

Each coin is large at 65 mm in diameter, with a weight of five troy ounces, and comes presented in one of the latex-skin ‘floating’ frames that make display easy. The back of these carries some information on the subject, as well as incorporating the Certificate of Authenticity. The coins are issued for the Cook Islands, ironically an almost universally pancake flat nation, so carry just the usual Ian Rank Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse, along with the inscribed issue details. The mintage of each is set at 777, keeping the theme going. A simple theme, less glamourous than much of what CIT produces, yet a solid favourite here, combining a rare and interesting theme, with a brilliant interpretation. Just what numismatics should be.

2016 DENALI (North America)

The highest mountain peak in North America, at some 18,000 feet (5,500 m), the base-to-peak rise is considered the largest of any mountain situated entirely above sea level. Measured by topographic prominence, it is the third most prominent peak after Mount Everest and Aconcagua. Located in the Alaska Range in the interior of the US state of Alaska, McKinley is the centerpiece of Denali National Park and Preserve. It is the third most isolated peak on Earth.

In September 2013, Alaska’s government announced Mount McKinley is 20,237 feet (6,168 m) tall and not 20,320 feet (6,194 m) as measured in 1952 using photogrammetry. In 2015, the mountain was officially renamed Denali, and its height was again changed to 20,310 feet (6,190m).

First ascended on 07 June 1913 by by climbers Hudson Stuck, Harry Karstens, Walter Harper, and Robert Tatum, who went by the South Summit.

6,190 metres

2017 MOUNT EVEREST (Asia)

Mount Everest, also known in Nepal as Sagarmāthā and in Tibet as Chomolungma, is Earth’s highest mountain. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international border between China and Nepal runs across the precise summit point. Its massif includes neighboring peaks Lhotse, 8,516 m (27,940 ft); Nuptse, 7,855 m (25,771 ft) and Changtse, 7,580 m (24,870 ft).

Euophrys omnisuperstes, a minute black jumping spider, has been found at elevations as high as 6,700 metres (22,000 ft), possibly making it the highest confirmed non-microscopic permanent resident on Earth. It lurks in crevices and may feed on frozen insects that have been blown there by the wind.

First ascended on 29 May 1953 via the South Col Route by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

8,848 metres

2018 ACONCAGUA (South America)

Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the Western and Southern Hemispheres at 6,960.8 metres (22,837 ft). It’s located in the Andes mountain range, in the province of Mendoza, Argentina, and lies 112 kilometres (70 mi) northwest of its capital, the city of Mendoza. It is considered the tallest non-technical mountain in the world.

Aconcagua is bounded by the Valle de las Vacas to the north and east and the Valle de los Horcones Inferior to the West and South. The mountain and its surroundings are part of the Aconcagua Provincial Park. The mountain was created by the subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American plate during the geologically recent Andean orogeny; but it is not a volcano.

First ascended in 1897 by Swiss guide Matthias Zurbriggen on an expedition led by British climber Edward FitzGerald.

6,961 metres

2019 KILIMANJARO (Africa)

Mount Kilimanjaro, with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi and Shira, is a dormant volcanic mountain in Tanzania. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world.

Mawenzi and Shira are extinct, while Kibo is dormant and could erupt again. The last major eruption has been dated to between 150,000 and 200,000 years ago. Kibo has gas-emitting fumaroles in its crater. Several collapses and landslides have occurred on Kibo before, one creating the area known as the Western Breach.

First ascended on 06 October 1889 by Hans Meyer and Ludwig Purtscheller.

5,895 metres

2020 CARSTENSZ PYRAMID (Oceania)

Also called Puncak Jaya, Carstensz Pyramid is the highest summit of Mount Carstensz in the Sudirman Range of the western central highlands of Papua Province, Indonesia.

At 4,884 metres (16,024 ft) above sea level, Puncak Jaya is the highest mountain in Indonesia, the highest on the island of New Guinea (which comprises the Indonesian West Papua region plus Papua New Guinea), the highest on the continent of Australia (which comprises New Guinea, the country of Australia, Timor, other islands, and submerged continental shelf), the highest in Oceania, and the 5th highest mountain in political Southeast Asia. It is also the highest point between the Himalayas and the Andes, and the highest island peak in the world.

First ascended in 1962 by the Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer (of Seven Years in Tibet fame, and climber of the Eiger North Face) with three other expedition members – the New Zealand mountaineer Philip Temple, the Australian rock climber Russell Kippax, and the Dutch patrol officer Albertus (Bert) Huizenga.

4,884 metres

2021 MOUNT ELBRUS (Europe)

Mount Elbrus is the highest and most prominent peak in Russia and Europe. It is situated in the western part of the Caucasus and is the highest peak of the Caucasus Mountains. The dormant volcano rises 5,642 m (18,510 ft) above sea level; it is the highest stratovolcano in Eurasia, as well as the tenth-most prominent peak in the world. The mountain stands in Southern Russia, in the Russian republic of Kabardino-Balkaria.

Elbrus has two summits, both of which are dormant volcanic domes. The taller, western summit is 5,642 metres (18,510 ft);[2] the eastern summit is 5,621 metres (18,442 ft). The eastern summit was first ascended on 10 July 1829 by Khillar Khachirov, and the western summit in 1874 by a British expedition led by F. Crauford Grove and including Frederick Gardner, Horace Walker, and the Swiss guide Peter Knubel.

Mount Elbrus was formed more than 2.5 million years ago. The volcano is currently considered dormant. Elbrus was active in the Holocene, and according to the Global Volcanism Program, the last eruption took place about AD 50. Evidence of recent volcanism includes several lava flows on the mountain, which look fresh, and roughly 260 square kilometres (100 sq mi) of volcanic debris. The longest flow extends 24 kilometres (15 mi) down the northeast summit, indicative of a large eruption. There are other signs of activity on the volcano, including solfataric activity and hot springs. The western summit has a well-preserved volcanic crater about 250 metres (820 ft) in diameter.[

5,642 metres

2022 MOUNT VINSON (Antarctica)

Vinson Massif is a large mountain massif in Antarctica that is 21 km long and 13 km wide, and lies within the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains. It overlooks the Ronne Ice Shelf near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. The massif is located about 1,200 kilometres from the South Pole. Vinson Massif was discovered in January 1958 by U.S. Navy aircraft. In 1961, the Vinson Massif was named by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN), after Carl G. Vinson, United States congressman from the state of Georgia, for his support for Antarctic exploration. On November 1, 2006, US-ACAN declared Mount Vinson and Vinson Massif to be separate entities. Vinson Massif lies within the Chilean claim under the Antarctic Treaty System.

Mount Vinson is the highest peak in Antarctica, at 4,892 metres. It lies in the north part of Vinson Massif’s summit plateau in the south portion of the main ridge of the Sentinel Range, about 2 kilometres north of Hollister Peak. It was first climbed in 1966 by an American team led by Nicholas Clinch. An expedition in 2001 was the first to climb via the Eastern route, and also took GPS measurements of the height of the peak. As of February 2010, 1,400 climbers have attempted to reach the top of Mount Vinson.

4,892 metres

COMMON OBVERSE

SPECIFICATION

THE SEVEN SUMMITS
DENOMINATION $25 CID (Cook Islands)
COMPOSITION 0.999 silver
WEIGHT 155.5 grams (5 troy ounces
DIMENSIONS 65.0 mm
FINISH Brilliant uncirculated
MODIFICATIONS High relief, Smartminting, colour
MINTAGE 777
BOX / C.O.A. Yes / Yes