February 14, 2019 – With its “The 7 Summits” series, CIT Coin Invest AG sets an extraordinary numismatic monument to the world’s highest summits. Smartminting technology allows for a true-to-life relief of the seven highest mountains of the seven continents, as viewed from above, with a realistic appearance thanks to ever-more-detailed color application. In November 2018, at the Coin Constellation in Russia, the series’ second edition, which is dedicated to Mount Everest, was awarded the second prize in the category “Coin of the Year”.
Cook Islands / 25 dollars / Silver .999 / 5 oz. / 65 mm / Mintage: 777.
Compared to that prize-winning object, the new edition, dedicated to Aconcagua, is characterized by an even more delicate color application.
A view of the Aconcagua from the south. Photo: Mario Robert Duran Ortiz / CC BY 3.0.
At 6,960.8 meters (22,837 ft), Aconcagua in Argentina presents the highest elevation outside of the Himalayas as well as in both the Southern and Western Hemispheres. It is the only one of the Seven Summits than can be ascended without climbing equipment, which is why its visitors range from the 9-year-old boy to the 87-year-old pensioner. Unfortunately, potential summiteers underestimate Aconcagua time and again; in 2009 alone, five climbers lost their lives. A mummy from the 15th century, found at 5,300 meters (17,388 ft), shows that the mountain was already climbed more or less successfully in the early modern era.
The coin designed by CIT Coin Invest AG impresses with a true-to-life relief.
Traditionally, many German mountaineers opt for an expedition to Aconcagua since it gained renown with the scientific expedition of Paul Güssfeldt from Berlin in 1882/3. To date, one of the camps is called Camp Berlin. The first person to reach the summit though, on 14 January 1897, was the Swiss mountain guide Matthias Zurbriggen.
Like its predecessors, the mintage of the third edition of the “The 7 Summits” series will be 777.
There is a video about this coin showing its elaborate details in three dimensions.
Further information about the coin is available on the CIT Coin Invest website.
Hiking and climbing aficionados will find an abundance of information on how to conquer Aconcagua on the internet.