December 12, 2013 – The series Mountains & Flora, designed by Coin Invest Trust, celebrates the beauty of the Earth. Now three new issues are being added to the 40 coin-series, dedicated to majestic eight-thousanders in South and East Asia.
Palau / 5 Dollars / Silver .925 / 20 g / 38.61 mm / Mintage: 2,500 (each coin).
The front of the coin features the coat of arms of the Nation of Palau against a polished background, as well as the official name of the issuing country, Republic of Palau and the nominal value, 5 $.
The reverse of all coins of the series has also been designed consistently. A mountain raises in matted relief against a polished background and to the right a coloured plant typical of the region extends into the field. In front of the mountain its name and height are given (Baekdu Mountain (Heaven Lake) 2744 m, Kangchenjunga 8598 m, Makalu 8463 m). A flapping ribbon shows the year of issue, 2013. Above the mountain the series’ name is indicated: Mountains & Flora.
What fascinates many coin collectors about their hobby are mainly two aspects: collecting pieces that belong to a series, and the pleasurable side-effect of acquiring useful knowledge. These aspects are combined harmoniously in the Mountains & Flora series. Since 2009 the Liechtenstein company Coin Invest Trust has designed new coins portraying a mountain and its typical flora on a yearly basis. Recently a new three coin set was presented in Beijing joining the 40 coins previously issued. This set brings the collectors’ attention to three mountains in South and East Asia.
Heaven’s Lake. Photo: Bdpmax / http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
Baekdu Mountain means Whitehead Mountain in Korean and is the highest peak on the Korean Peninsula. Temperatures on the active volcano span from 18 degree Celsius in summer to minus 48 degrees Celsius during the winter period. In 969 a gigantic eruption of this volcano created an enormous crater which filled with water, forming Heaven Lake, one of the coldest lakes on Earth.
Until 1852 Kangchenjunga was believed to be the world’s highest mountain. Exact measuring revealed, though, that Mount Everest and K2 are higher making it only the third highest mountain. The eight-thousander on the border between Nepal and India was first climbed in 1955. At this time British mountaineer duo George Band and Joe Brown paid their respect to the natives’ religion which considered the mountain as sacred, and thus both men stopped shortly before arriving at the summit.
Makalu was also climbed for the first time in 1955. French mountaineers scaled the eight-thousander located between Nepal and Tibet. Performing this task is so dangerous that the first winter ascent only succeeded in 2009.
You will find more information on these coins and the series on the Coin Invest Trust website.
Here is a collection of impressive photos from eightthousanders.
And in this video clip you can visit the Heaven’s Lake.