Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Coin of the Week Nov. 7th

Welcome to this week's Coin of the Week post.

For this week I have chosen a coin from the Monnaie de Paris. This French coin is from the Great Captains of Industry Series featuring a French Civil Engineer and Architect, known for one the most recognizable cultural icons of France, "La Tour Eiffel", aka The Eiffel Tower. This coin commemorates the engineer Gustave Eiffel whose company designed and built the Eiffel Tower.

Although he is most famous for the Eiffel Tower, he spent a majority of his life earning his name as a hard working engineer that earned him the Eiffel Tower contract. He earned his name building many things in many countries, including viaducts, churches, railway terminals, but most of all, bridges. His most well known being the Maria Pia Bridge, which at the time, surpassed the longest arch span bridge built previously.

As his career progressed, he gained more and more recognition and was chosen for more jobs because of his skillful work and ability to find the right talent to complete necessary tasks. It was because of this reputation that he was chosen to help complete the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the French to the U.S.A.. He played key roles in designing the structure of the Statue of Liberty. One interesting fact is that the Statue of Liberty was erected at the Eiffel workshop before being dismantled and shipped to the U.S..

The concept for the Eiffel Tower was not thought up by Eiffel himself. In fact, he showed little enthusiasm when he discussed the idea with Maurice Koechlin, the creator of the original design for the tower. But he decided to sanction further study of the project. After spending more time theorizing the design, the idea grew on him as he thought the tower would symbolize the century of industry and science.

Now for the coin which commemorates this innovative French Civil Engineer. The France 2009 Great Captains of Industry Series Gustave Eiffel coins are available in 4 variations. The lineup is as follows; 22.2gm Silver, 44.4gm Piedfort Silver, 5oz Silver, and 1/4oz Gold renditions are all available through our store. My personal favorites being the 44.4gm Piedfort Silver and 1/4oz Gold variations. The design is maintained on each different coin. Featuring a portrait a Gustave Eiffel along side the Eiffel Tower, with his name and year of birth and death on the reverse. While on the obverse, an assemblage of metal beams come together at the center of the coin, with inscriptions "Liberte", "Egalite", and "Fraternite" along the top translated to English as "Liberty", "Equality", and "Fraternity".

Have a look through our online store and be sure to stop by the Sales and New Coins sections to see our best deals and most recently added inventory.


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