Polish Coin Of The Week #2

JohnZ · January 11, 2004 5:56AM

This is the World Cup Amber Crown of 2002, commemorating the World Cup held in Korea and Japan.

Mintage is 65,000, Denomination: 10 Zl. Composition: 14.14 grams of .925 silver, diameter: 32 mm.

The soccer ball on both the obverse and reverse is inset amber, God only knows why...

Amber was a major trading commodity in Poland-Lithuania during the 16th and 17th centuries, but what it has to do with soccer is beyond me. This coin highlights an interesting feature of the Warsaw mint: bold experimentation. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I'm not sure I appreciate the aesthetics of this coin - it seems to be a little bit too busy for it's own good, but I applaud the effort in searching out new artistic paths.

Link to Polish Coin of the Week #1

1jester · January 11, 2004 6:06AM

This is definitely one of my favorite coins, and shows AWESOME use of amber, which is a very warm stone that also happens to be transparent. It sort of just glows, which when used in this manner, really helps offset the soccer ball. I believe this is the purpose of using amber as opposed to any other kind of stone or other material, as we've seen the National Mint use for these issues (example: ceramic, cubic zirconia). Besides that, amber is not only directly related to Poland, as you've mentioned, it is beautiful to look at especially when paired with silver. Poland is famous for its hand-crafted silver and amber jewelry.

Altogether, the mint has scored a major goal, or even "grandslam" with this particular coin. Thanks for sharing it!

JohnZ · January 11, 2004 6:24AM

Yes, Jester, you're right. The coin has tremendous appeal on a number of levels.

Another aspect of it's appeal is the strike. It possesses a deep cameo contrast which my pathetic scan does not reveal: highly mirrored fields and crisp, frosty devices. I bought the coin from danglen, and his photos do a better job of telling it's story. So with apologies to Dan, here are his pics...

spoon · January 11, 2004 7:16AM

That's a pretty cool coin! I usually don't like coins pandering to collectors, er.. NCLT, but the Polish mint defiitely gives you something worth your money

But still, I wanna see some old stuff!!

JohnZ · January 11, 2004 7:47AM

The Warsaw Mint has ALWAYS pandered to collectors if you want to call it such. I like to call it "being aware of collectors".

Look in Krause, and see how many pattern coins have been minted since the re-establishment of the institution in 1923.

But the difference between the US Mint and the Polish Mint is the difference between America and Europe, and that's opening a Pandora's box.

JohnZ · January 11, 2004 3:05PM

ttt

JohnZ · January 12, 2004 8:47AM

ttt again.

No SSP involved. I just wanted people to see this coin.

Nobody was around yesterday.

spoon · January 12, 2004 9:10AM

<< <i>But the difference between the US Mint and the Polish Mint is the difference between America and Europe, and that's opening a Pandora's box. >>

That's the thing right there.. I don't like the places that crank out stick figure designs with the theme of the moment. Poland has always kept a touch of class in their coins, even some of the more mundane topics still have awesome design. They take their collectors seriously, whereas, IMO, other mints just sell as much as they can get away with. You can tell their designers know and appreciate their material. Half the reason state quarters are such crap is because the artists didn't know how to design coins, they just made art not understanding the medium.

JohnZ · January 12, 2004 9:24AM

That's the thing right there.. I don't like the places that crank out stick figure designs with the theme of the moment. Poland has always kept a touch of class in their coins, even some of the more mundane topics still have awesome design. They take their collectors seriously, whereas, IMO, other mints just sell as much as they can get away with. You can tell their designers know and appreciate their material. Half the reason state quarters are such crap is because the artists didn't know how to design coins, they just made art not understanding the medium.

Well said, spoon. It's interesting to note that I started collecting the state quarters before I became enamored of the Darkside. (Last year). When I look at the bold experimentation of the Polish Mint, I can't help but be drawn to it.

Needless to say, my SQ collection has fallen by the wayside. After seeing so many of the SQ designs, I find it hard to believe that anyone cares about them. But I suppose that if you throw a crumb to a starving man, he isn't going to complain.

Polish Coin Of The Week #2

Comments