Cook Islands – 2018 – 10 Dollars – Mallard Train

The Mallard Steam Locomotive holds a top speed record. It was one of the A4 class locomotives of the British London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) and achieved a top speed of 203 km/h on July 3, 1938, along the slightly descending Stoke Bank on the East Coast Main Line. This is the world speed record for steam locomotives.

At the time of its record, the locomotive no. 4468, built in 1938, had been in operation for five months. The Mallard is 21 m long and weighs 165 tons. Although it is still operational today, it was decommissioned in 1963 (after 25 years of operation). Restored to its original state, complete with the original blue paint and red wheels, it was first exhibited in the Clapham Railway Museum in London and is now on display at the National Railway Museum in York.

The Mallard Silver coin doesn’t just capture the striking look of the original Mallard locomotive with its bright blue color and red wheels, it also uniquely captures and expresses the train’s dynamics at full speed. To accomplish this, CIT employed its renowned and self-developed Smartminting technology. In doing so, they worked out a fascinating relief with a ‘speed effect’. The design was created by CIT and embossed by BH Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt in Munich, which also played a part in the development of Smartminting technology. Each of these embossed silver coins to mark the 80th anniversary of the Mallard’s speed record in 2018, is protected by a plastic capsule and packaged in a beautifully designed box labeled ‘Spirit of Trains’. The box also contains the coin’s certificate.

The train itself is made in high relief, and the inscriptions ‘Mallard’ and ‘2018’ on the 2 oz prooflike silver coin are also in relief. The train is colored by means of 5C digital printing – another special technical achievement in the relief field – and the speed effect is also printed. The other side of the coin shows a side portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, with the issuing country ‘Cook Islands’ and the face value ’10 Dollars’.

The .999 silver coin with a diameter of 50 mm enjoys rarity status due to the use of Smartminting technology, along with the colored train relief and the outstanding details. But it is also a real collector’s item with a small and limited edition of just 499 pieces. Each coin carries its own serial number on its edge, which ranges from 001/499 to 499/499. Thus, the Mallard – Spirit of Trains coin is also ideal as a precious, beautifully made gift.