August 23, 2018 – CIT Coin Invest Ltd. has designed yet another astonishing silver coin for the Cook Islands. Basically, coin minting is nothing but pressing a relief onto a previously flat blank. But the mastery with which the Little Secrets coin at only 2 oz silver plays with different relief heights takes the word minting to the next level. Little Secrets unlocks the full potential of smartminting©. The extremely high relief of the keyhole-shaped incuse is combined with delicate floral tendrils exhibiting an extremely low relief.
Cook Islands / 10 Dollars / Silver .999 / 2 oz / 38.61 mm / Mintage: 777.
The coin, already minted with the highest perfection, is rounded off with color application on the incused surface so that the coin produces a kind of keyhole effect: We can see a cut-out from a painting by contemporary painter Bryce Cameron Liston. It shows a young woman at her dressing table. She has already put on shoes and undergarment, and is about to pick a hairband matching her shoes. Even though the coin’s name may superficially refer to the secrets of the female toilet, of which many among us would like to catch a glimpse, the technique which at once yields such a high relief and with recessed color application in perfection also remains the mint’s little secret.
The obverse is adorned with a delicate, lightly deepened floral pattern, onto which a round blank space is set in the upper middle of the coin, showing the portrait of the English Queen and the circumscription ELIZABETH II 10 DOLLARS COOK ISLANDS 2018.
The surface of the reverse takes up the floral pattern of the obverse. Set against this background is the legend Little Secrets in cursive. Incused in the middle is the shape of a keyhole, presenting a cut-out from a painting by Bryce Cameron Liston in color application.
You can take a look at the original painting in Liston’s online portfolio.
To get a 360 view of this coin, watch this clip.
Learn more about this “Little Secrets” silver coin, check out the official website of CIT.