What do Santa Claus, Queen Elizabeth and an American football have in common? The answer is simple: they are all themes of CIT small gold coins. Be it Biker or Truck, Athena’s Owl or Napoleon Bonaparte – the world of small gold coins is as diverse and exciting as our time.
Small Works of Art Thanks to Sophisticated Minting Technology
At the same time, small gold coins are wonderful indicators that show how much modern minting technology has developed. In 2006, CIT issued its first small coin series in today’s sense of the word. It was not dedicated to the “Big Five” but to the “Little Five”, i.e. ant lion, rhino beetle, elephant screw, buffalo weaver and leopard tortoise. This series joined the previous small gold coins, which had a weight of 1/25 oz, i.e. 1.244 g. The diameter of the new 0.5 g small gold coins was 11 mm instead of the previous 13.92 mm of the 1/25-oz coin. By the way, thanks to state-of-the-art smartminting® technology, small gold coins with a weight of 0.5 g are now also issued with a diameter of 13.92 mm!
If you take a look at all these small works of art, you will be impressed by the achievements of the modern minting craft. Even the first small gold coin series Little Five of 2006 presented surprising details such as – to name just one example – the legs of the ant lion. Today, there are even more possibilities. Consider, for example, the dress of Queen Elizabeth and its lace pattern or the face of Eddie, the mascot of Iron Maiden, whose muscle fibers are carved out with brilliant precision.
Small, Smaller, the Smallest
When CIT created its 0.5 g small gold coins in 2006, they did not give up on the alternative of 1/25-oz coins. With more than double the weight, this format offered more technical possibilities. Thus, the first small gold coin with color printing still had a weight of 1.244 g. It was issued for Christmas 2007 and presented an image of Our Lady and baby Jesus. In the same year, the first Special Shape coin was issued – a small gold coin of 0.5 g. It showed a cloverleaf and was part of the popular “Clover” series, whose issues accompany many people as lucky charms in their wallets. In 2008, the first completely colored small gold coin of 0.5 g was released. Its design was reminiscent of a poppy blossom and referred to Remembrance Day. In the same year, a first-class technical highlight was issued – with the weight of 1/25 oz. The coin was dedicated to Nicolaus Copernicus and shows a frontal portrait of the great scholar in front of his model of the solar system, which, instead of the sun, has a red crystal inlay at the center. An additional feature is the elaborate partial silver plating.
In addition to issues of 0.5 g and 1/25 oz, in the years after 2010 numerous pieces of 1 g were issued, too. By now, they have more or less disappeared form CIT’s product range because half a gram of gold is more than enough to create an impressive relief on a miniature coin today.
Special Shapes – Numismatics Without Restrictions
From the first rather low-key Special Shape coins in the form of a cloverleaf, a heart or a star, wonderful small coins have developed whose variety knows no restrictions.
Be it talismans – like Guardian Angel, Lady Luck or Lucky Pig – or gifts for the sports-loving offspring (no matter how old the offspring may be) – Football, Basketball and American Football should be mentioned here – small gold coins are not only supposed to be for collectors.
Johann Berner, CEO of CIT, comments: “We want to create products for collectors, but also products that appeal to people who are not part of the collector community yet. I often have fun giving one of our small gold coins as a gift on personal occasions. In doing so, I choose the motif according to the preferences of the recipient. I often get surprised looks. No one who doesn’t know us and our coins would imagine that we have a coin that’s just perfect for them.” Jeanette Berner, Managing Director, adds: “Collecting has traditionally been a male field. However, especially our small gold coins are particularly popular with women. This is because they are the perfect gift for any occasion. Valuable, beautiful and always appropriate.”
Heimo Steriti, former CEO and Chairman of the supervisory board of CIT, emphasizes another aspect: “When I look back at all small gold coins on our website, I’m always fascinated by all the historic events they remind me of, which I still remember well. Be it the wedding of Charles and Lady Diana, the election of Barack Obama, the abdication of Pope Benedict or the Mr. Bean movies – that’s my past. I witnessed that. Small gold coins are a wonderful opportunity to purchase a piece of tangible memories.”
A Perfect Introduction to the Hobby
In fact, all the motifs that recipients or collectors can identify with provide the opportunity for a very personal form of collecting. Therefore, they are a wonderful introduction to the hobby, especially for younger collectors. So, why not put a small gold coin under the Christmas tree for the next holidays? Gold is in vogue, especially among young people.
CIT has launched four new small gold coins especially for Christmas. They all have the same technical specifications: Palau, 1 Dollar n.d. Gold .9999. 0.5 g. 13.92 mm. Silk finish. Mintage: 15,000 pieces each. Special technology: smartminting®. Minted by B. H. Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt, Munich.
All blanks have a different shape and depiction according to their theme:
- Ace of Spades
- Biker
- Santa Claus
- Gingerbread-Man
In addition, there are lots of other motifs that can be found at many coin shops or directly in the CIT web shop.
We reported in CoinsWeekly on many coins designed by CIT.
You will find the CIT coins with their specifications in our online archive Cosmos of Collectibles.
Here you will get directly to the small gold coins in our database.
