Cook Islands – 2013 – 5 dollars – Chelyabinsk Meteorite (including box) (PROOF)

Description

Metal Silver .925
Weight 20 g
Size 38.61 mm
Quality Proof
Mintage 2500 pcs
On February 15th, 2013 at about 9:20 am local time, a meteor exploded over Chelyabinsk in the Russian Ural region.

NASA estimated it to be the largest meteor since 1908. The large number of injuries is also unique; 1200 people were injured, more than 1100 by broken glass from shattered windows. The diameter of the meteor was 17 metres and its mass about 10’000 tons. The celestial body entered the Earth’s atmosphere travelling at a velocity of 18 kilometers per second. The kinetic energy was equivalent to 500 kilotons of TNT which amounts to the energy released from 33 atomic bombs as detonated at Hiroshima.

The air burst and the following shock wave resulted in 200’000 square metres of broken windows and damage to about 4000 homes. According to press releases a fragment of the meteorite hit lake Tschebarkul near the town of Chelyabinsk, tearing a hole of about six metres in diameter in the ice sheet.

With this coin you experience the explosion through the eyes of the inhabitants of Chelyabinsk. Broken window panes and the passing meteoroid trail in the sky. For once a very different perspective for a commemorative coin.