Top World Coins debuts the top world dinosaur, politicians, and creator on a new trio of silver coins
Top World Coins are back with a new selection to add to their expanding range. Two of them are additions to existing series, with Rushmore the second in the Rock-cut Monument range, and 7 Days of Creation the fourth Biblical Stories issue. The all-new offering is the first in a Lost World series, and features the king of predatory beasts – Tyrannosaurus Rex. You’ll all know what a sucker I am for a dino coin, so obviously, this is our favourite. All are available to order now.
Called Lost World, the series is said to be a look back at the Mesozoic Era of Earth’s geological past, where giant beast’s roamed the planet eating everything in sight. The most famous of them all, and perhaps the most terrifying, was the theropod predator, Tyrannosaurus Rex. Exceeding 13 metres in length, and with a weight up to nine tons, T. rex was an apex predator, and one of the last non-avian dinosaurs to exist before the great extinction event some 65 million years ago.
The animal is depicted side on, over a background of flora from the period, and exhibits a good grasp of anatomy. The tail is a little over-flexible, but the pose seems to fit the current thinking. The teeth are all on show, so they’ve chosen to depict it without lips. Science is currently leaning towards it having them, but that’s a recent advance, and not confirmed. Besides, who wouldn’t want to see those bone-crushing gnashers on display! All told, a fine depiction.
The obverse depicts a reptilian eye looking back out at you. It could almost been a youngling peering out from its cracked eggshell, and it’s been well realised. We suspect this will be a common design to the series. Like all three of these new coins, it will come boxed with a Certificate of Authenticity. A cool debut for a series we’ll be watching closely.
Carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota is one of the most iconic landmarks ever produced. Sculpted by Gutzon Borglum and his son in the 1930s, the Mount Rushmore National Memorial features 20 metre tall portraits of four of the greatest US Presidents, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Ironically, Rushmore is located in the Black Hills, the same region where the famous ‘Sue’ T-Rex fossil was discovered.
Rushmore is the subject of the second in the Rock-cut Memorials series, following a Petra in Jordan design in late 2023, which we found to be quite excellent. The monument has been done on coins before, but never this well, with high-relief used to great effect to add perspective and depth to our view of it. The depiction also seems to be a considerably more accurate one than on previous coins.
The obverse remains the same as the Petra issue, with one major difference. The effigy of King Charles III has given way to the national emblem of Ghana, which we think is a shame, as the effigy would’ve been a good fit for the theme. A fine addition to a very interesting subject for a coin series.
It seems that there’s always demand for a Bible themed coin, and with so many of the tales within this ubiquitous tome being so well known, and long-lived, that should come as little surprise to many. It’s also the most subject amongst TWC’s portfolio, with this new issue being the fourth in the Bible Stories series of two-ounce high-relief coins, following The Nativity, the Rescue of Daniel, and the Garden of Eden designs.
For its fourth outing, the series goes back to the beginning for the 7 Days of Creation, imagining the story told in Genesis of the creation of everything in Christian belief. God is shown in the classic form, with a huge beard, robed and with hands outstretched. Behind him are the thing he was said to have created on separate days, light, the stars, the flora and fauna, and, of course, man.
There’s a lot going on here, and the artist has done a fine job keeping it coherent and well-balanced. The detailing is first class, and TWC have done well to encapsulate a story of this scale on a single coin face. The obverse is the same attractive design that has adorned earlier releases, built around the book, and the dove from Noah’s Ark.
COIN | DENOMINATION | COMPOSITION | DIMENSION | FINISH | MINTAGE |
TYRANNOSAURUS | 2,000 Francs CFA (Cameroon) | 62.2 g of 0.999 silver | 45.0 mm | Antique | 1,000 |
RUSHMORE | 10 Cedis (Ghana) (Cook Islands) | 62.2 g of 0.999 silver | 45.0 mm | Antique | 999 |
CREATION | 2,000 Francs CFA (Cameroon) | 62.2 g of 0.999 silver | 45.0 mm | Antique | 1,000 |
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