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.