Cook Islands – 2010 – 1 + 2x 2 Dollars – Smallest Coins of the World (PROOF)

Description

Metal: Silver .999
Metal: Gold .999
Metal: Platinum .995
Weight: 0.12 g
Diameter: 4 mm
Quality: Prooflike
Mintage: 5’000 pcs.

This set is the smallest coin-set of the world and consists of a platinum, a gold and a silver coin. On a diameter of only 4 millimeter one can see the following three motifs:

Lady Penryhn. With her 333 tons she was a stately ship. She was built in 1786 in London and was part of the First Fleet. This fl eet consisted of eleven ships ? three supply ships, six prisoner transport ships and two navy ships who served as an escort party. With more than 750 convicts and over 500 crew members the fl eet left England on May 13, 1787 and reached Port Jackson, Sydney Australia on January 26, 1788. 101 female convicts were transported on the ?Lady Penrhyn?. The ?Lady Penrhyn? with Captain William Cropton Lever landed on a Cook Island atoll on August 8, 1788. This atoll was named after the ship. Penrhyn, also called Tongareva, is located just over 1300 kilometer northeast of the main island Rarotonga.

Fisherman?s God. The inhabitants of Rarotonga, one of the many Cook islands, attached this fi gure on their fi sher boats. There are different types of sculptures. Typical is their big eyes and big mouth. Most of them were originally provided with a long penis which was often removed by Christian Missionaries. Several fi gures were not decorated; others in turn were painted black with a design that looked like a tattoo. Unfortunately many sculptures disappeared after the Christianisation.

Humpback whale. They are known for their whale song and their acrobatics. These animals can grow up to 15 meters long and are found in oceans and seas around the world. Their main nutrition consists mainly of krill. The Humpback whale is a target for the whaling industry which has reduced their population drastically. As from 1966 they are listed as a protected species worldwide. Since 2007 there are countries who unfortunately do not abide by this decision and kill whales ?in the name of science?. One can only hope that these impressive animals do not disappear from our planet one day, as so many other species have already done