The
Mint of Poland (Mennica Polska) is proud to announce the release of a
new, low-mintage silver proof issued for the nation of Andorra.
This rectangular coin was minted at the historic Warsaw Mint, and
reproduces
three masterpieces by Leonardo da
Vinci: the
Mona Lisa,
the
Vitruvian Man,
and his only surviving
Self-Portrait.
In addition to its rectangular shape, the coin also features
colorization on both sides.
Please see lower on the page for a short presentation on the
Principality of Andorra.
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) is the archetype of the Renaissance Man.
During his life he did it all: architect, painter, sculptor, musician,
draftsman, engineer, geometer, inventor,
anatomist, physiologist, botanist and
scientist. In short, he was a true genius.
Leonardo is justly famous for his realistic paintings, such as the Mona
Lisa, the Madonna of the Rocks, and the Last Supper, as well as for
influential drawings such as the Vitruvian Man. All of these works of
art play significant roles in the novel The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.
Click
here for other coins and medals of The Da Vinci Code!
The Mona Lisa
The Mona Lisa is the famous 16th-century portrait by Leonardo da Vinci.
Her mysterious smile has beguiled generations of viewers, but the true
identity of this beauty remains unknown, despite intensive research by
art historians. Many believe the Mona Lisa to be a portrait of Lisa
Gherardini Giocondo, the wife of a
wealthy Florentine merchant,
Francesco del Giocondo, hence its name in Italian, “La
Gioconda”. Others have suggested the subject was a mistress
of da Vinci, or even a self-portrait, with da Vinci imagining himself
as a woman.
What is known is that Leonardo began the portrait in Florence in 1503,
continuing work on it through 1506, and then keeping the painting until
his death in 1519. Over the next three centuries the Mona Lisa
passed
through many hands, even hanging for a time in the bedroom of Napoleon,
but since 1804 its home has been the Louvre Museum in Paris. The Mona
Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in 1911, but recovered in Italy in 1913.
Leonardo's painting is famous among artist scholars for its innovative
techniques, including
sfumato
(shown in the painting's distinctive
hazy, soft-focus effect) and
chiaroscuro
(the complex interplay of
light and shadow). Some believe that its French name “La
Joconde” is a play on "the merry woman," a reference to her
smile.
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here for more coins and medals depicting great beauties!
Vitruvian Man &
Self Portrait
Da Vinci conceived of ideas vastly ahead of his time, notably inventing
the helicopter, tank, calculator, a
rudimentary theory of plate tectonics, the double hull, and others too
numerous to mention. Relatively few of his designs were constructed or
were even feasible during his lifetime. Of his works, only a few
paintings survive, together with his notebooks containing drawings,
scientific diagrams and notes. Leonardo wrote all his notebooks in
mirror-image script, so that others could not steal his ideas!
This Leonardo da Vinci coin features an engraving of his famous (and
only-known) self portrait, executed in red chalk, with his distinctive
signature to the right. A third artistic masterpiece, the
Vitruvian Man, has also
been
faithfully reproduced. This unique drawing is depicted in the context
of the actual notebook
page (in the Codex Atlanticus) on which it appears!
Deciphering the
notebook page, one finds that the Vitruvian Man diagram
accompanies a treatise on nature’s perfection, and is meant
to
illustrate the concept of the golden mean (also known as the golden
ration or divine proportion).
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here for more coins and medals
featuring art and artists!
A Technological and Artistic
Tour-de-Force
Leonardo's distinctive style is in clear evidence on this new
rectangular silver coin, which is struck in sterling (.925 fine)
silver with a proof finish. Both sides attempt to capture,
as closely as possible on a numismatic medium, the beauty and genius of
da Vinci’s oeuvres.
In many respects the da Vinci silver proof is a tour-de-force
statement by the Mint of Poland. The Polish Mint is without a doubt the
most technologically advanced in all of Europe, and this coin
demonstrates its ultra-modern capabilities. From the rectangular shape
to the double-sided colorization using the latest advances in this
technology, the mint
has truly gone the extra mile for the da Vinci coin, making it a
fitting commemorative indeed for this master of beauty and perfect
proportion.
Click
here for other great colorized coins!
In
addition to its state-of-the-art technology, the da Vinci silver proof
also serves to emphasize the Mint of Poland’s other
well-known
calling card, the masterful work of its design and engraving workshop.
Form truly follows function to produce a superior design on each side,
as all three world famous masterpieces by da Vinci are not just
immediately recognizable, but also near-perfect facsimiles of the
originals.
Click here for other odd- and
unusually-shaped coins and medals!
Investment Note
This coin has a total mintage of only 15,000, which is very low for
such
a reasonably-priced silver proof. Taking into account the large size,
the ever-popular theme featuring a world-renowned artists and three
major masterpieces, the superb colorization, the unusual shape, and the
oveall beauty of the design, we feel that
this
is
a great buy-and-hold for any numismatic portfolio.
Finally, consider the track
record of the 2007
Vincent Van Gogh Silver Dollar from Niue, the
preceding coin in this series (also minted by the Mint of Poland):
it sold out at the
mint in about a month and now trades for over $200 in the market.
Obverse
A masterfully engraved
reproduction
of the Mona Lisa (without a doubt the world's most famous painting!)
looks out at us with a knowing smile and a look of mild bemusement, as
she has for over half a millennium. Known as “La
Joconde”
in France and “La Gioconda” in Italy, it doesn't
matter
what language you speak, we all admire her beauty. The coat of arms of
the Principality of Andorra, the date and denomination also appear.
Reverse
Leonardo da Vinci
regards us from the
obverse of the medal, taken from the only-know self-portrait of the
genius. Below is his famous drawing, the Vitruvian Man, reproduced
exactly as it appears on the page of his notebook, while to the right a
facsimile of the great man's signature and the dates of his birth and
death can be found.
Each coin is
encapsulated and accompanied by an individually numbered certificate of
authenticity.
Andorra
Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra
(in Catalan:
Principat
d'Andorra),
is a small, landlocked country in western Europe, located in the
eastern
Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. Its official
language is Catalan, but both French and Spanish are commonly spoken by
the approximately 70,000 residents. The capital and largest city is
Andorra la Vella.
Once isolated, Andorra is currently a prosperous nation mainly due to
tourism and its status as a tax haven. As a mountain state, the country
is rugged, with only 2% of Andorran land being arable. The population
is currently cited as having the highest human life expectancy
on Earth, with an average of 83.5 years at birth.
