Reverie by Mucha is the latest in Powercoins hit Micropuzzle Treasures silver coin series

Powercoins hugely popular Micropuzzle Treasure art-themed series is back with a third installment, and it’s an artist I don’t remember seeing on a coin before, Alfons Mucha. A member of the Art Nouveau movement, he has a unique style and makes a refreshing change from the usual Leonardo or Klimt paining.

As with Renoir’s ‘Two Sisters’ and Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’, the first coins in this series, the artwork in question is overlaid onto a pattern finely struck into the surface of the coin, that pattern replicating the look of a jigsaw puzzle. What lifts the design above the simplicity hinted at there, is the use of three levels of very crisply defined relief, which is something Smartminting does so well. A gap in the puzzle picture reveals the silver surface below, while the missing ‘pieces’ are seen scattered around on the surface of the mostly completed image.

Like Powercoin’s other impressive series – Micromosaic Passion – it’s just a simple concept done perfectly, to create something greater than its parts. The Mucha art has a sharp edged definition that looks like it will handle the style without problem, so all round, a great addition. The obverse remains the same as on previous coins in the series and is also nicely themed.

Well presented in a piano-black box with a Certificate of Authenticity, the three-ouncer is capped at 499 pieces. Again, the serial number is engraved on the edge of the coin, and again, it reaches out to an expansive 65 mm in diameter. There’s nothing to dislike about this series. It’s refreshingly simple, well realised and with broad subject appeal. Available now, expect a quick sell out. What next? I’d love to see ‘American Gothic’ by Grant Wood for something different again.

ALPHONSE MUCHA

Alfons Maria Mucha (24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939), known internationally as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech painter, illustrator and graphic artist, living in Paris during the Art Nouveau period, best known for his distinctly stylized and decorative theatrical posters, particularly those of Sarah Bernhardt. He produced illustrations, advertisements, decorative panels, and designs, which became among the best-known images of the period.

In the second part of his career, at the age of 43, he returned to his homeland of Bohemia-Moravia region in Austria and devoted himself to painting a series of twenty monumental canvases known as The Slav Epic, depicting the history of all the Slavic peoples of the world, which he painted between 1912 and 1926. In 1928, on the 10th anniversary of the independence of Czechoslovakia, he presented the series to the Czech nation. He considered it his most important work. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

MINTS DESCRIPTION

This impressive 3 Oz Silver coin is the third issue from the “Micropuzzle Treasures” series, dedicated to micropuzzle Art and to Mucha’s masterpiece – Rêverie. The coin features 254 minted pieces thanks to the Smartminting technology, it’s individually numbered on the edge and comes in a luxury case, along with the Certificate of Authenticity. Limited mintage of only 499 pcs worldwide!

REVERSE: The reverse of the coin reproduces the spectacular coloured painting of “Rêverie“ by Alphonse Mucha, struck with more than 254 minted pieces in exceptional high relief, to reproduce and empathize the extraordinary beauty of this piece of puzzle art, in miniature. On the lower right side of the reverse, the year of issue: “2021” and the scrambled pieces of the puzzle on the coin surface.

OBVERSE: The obverse of the coin features the Coat of Arms of Palau, surrounded by a beautiful decorative micropuzzle pattern. All around the obverse, the inscriptions: “MICROPUZZLE TREASURES” – the name of the series, “REPUBLIC OF PALAU” – the issuing country and “20$” – the face value. Each coin is individually numbered on the edge.