Roswell, the worlds most famous UFO conspiracy, is remembered on a domed, fluoresecent silver coin

Parisian-based coin producer Art Mint has debuted a cool, quirky silver coin today, one that commemorates 70 years since the much believed crash-landing of an alien spacecraft in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. Having started a whole raft of conspiracy theories soon after, they continue to propogate and be believed around the world today. Was it a weather balloon as the military stated soon after? Was it the result of the failed test flight of a new top secret aircraft? Was it an alien spacecraft? Nobody has clarified events, so it remains the subject of conspiracy theorists globally.

One defining image to come out of the chaos is that of the classic flying saucer design for alien spacecraft. Taken up by scores of low budget movies, and some blockbusters, the craft has entered the popular consciousness to the point where many believe they genuinely exist. What better way to commemorate an event like this than to take the recent trend of domed strikes and produce a flying saucer coin.

Taking all of the iconic design elements of this fictitious craft (yes folks, it really is fictitious...), Art Mint has produced a very cool representation in our favourite shiny metal. Combining a domed strike with high-relief has created a great piece of work in our view and it's enhanced with some nice touches. Alien text is inscribed on the reverse face and the Queens effigy (the coin is issued for Niue Island), is reduced in size and placed on the obverse where it doesn't interfere with the design intent. It also has some fluorescent tech built in, glowing in the dark after having been exposed to light. We've yet to see this, but it sounds clever.

Struck in 40 grams of sterling 0.925 silver, the Renato Saes penned design works great for me, tapping into the rich cultural seam that has ballooned up around this event. The packaging fits the theme well, looking identical to that used by the New Zealand Mint for its series, Endangered Wildlife. We've had several of those in hand and they're good. Shipping from late July or early August, the price should be a touch under €180.00. Art Mint coins have never been bargain basement items, but they always been worth the extra. Can't wait to see this one in hand, we'll try to get hold of one for a video and images.

UPDATE: Higher reolution images added and coin diameter corrected to 40.0 mm from 38.6 mm (my mistake).

2017 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF ROSWELL SILVER COIN

PACKAGING AND ALTERNATE VIEWS

MINTS DESCRIPTION

70 years ago, an unidentified flying object crashed near Roswell, New Mexico. What was it? Aliens? A government experiment? Something else? The Art Mint launches a new coin to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of "ROSWELL UFO" incident (1947-2017).

The stunning silver legal tender coin is strictly limited to only 700 pieces worldwide (fast sell-out expected!) minted in a special "domed" shape combined with High Relief technique and photo-luminescent details! For best effect, place the coin in sunlight, fluorescent, or incandescent light for 30 – 60 seconds then turn off the lights to see the UFO details glowing in the dark! Furthermore, the coin impresses with its modern and sophisticated design creating a unique 3D-effect.

Each coin comes in a specially designed collector's box and package. The certificate of authenticity is printed as a "Top secret" file which matches the overall look perfectly.

ROSWELL INICIDENT

In early July, 1947, a rancher discovered unidentifiable debris of a mysterious object crashed in his sheep pasture 30 miles north of Roswell. The Roswell Army Air Field (RAAF) issued a statement claiming to have recovered a crashed “flying disk.” On July 8, “RAAF Captures Flying Saucer on Ranch in Roswell Region” was the top story in the Roswell Daily Record and the next day, RAAF changed its statement to say that the object was a weather balloon, not a flying disk as they previously reported. However, to anyone who had seen the debris (or the newspaper photographs of it), it was clear that whatever this thing was, it was no weather balloon.

This revised statement sparked immediate controversy and has continued to be a topic of debate 70 years later. Some people believed–and still believe–that the crashed vehicle had not come from Earth at all. Nearly 50 years after the story of the mysterious debris broke, the U.S. military issued a report linking the incident to a top-secret atomic espionage project called Project Mogul. Still, many people continue to embrace the UFO theory, and hundreds of curiosity seekers visit Roswell and the crash site every year. What happened in Roswell? UFO crash? An alien encounter or a government cover-up?

SPECIFICATION

NAME 2017 ROSWELL ANNIVERSARY
DENOMINATION $2 New Zealand
COMPOSITION 0.925 'sterling' silver
WEIGHT 40.0 grams
DIAMETER 40.0 mm
FINISH Proof
MODIFICATIONS Glow-in-the-dark
MINTAGE 700
BOX / COA Yes / Yes
ART MINT