2004 TRANSIT OF VENUS GOLD BULLION COIN Krugerrand Astronomy Telescope Astronaut

Description

THE **FIRST AND ONLY ONE** OF ONLY 30 EVER MADE OF THESE ULTRA RARE SOLID PURE GOLD COINS EVER OFFERED FOR SALE!
2004 TRANSIT OF VENUS, SOUTH AFRICA
1 TROY OUNCE OF 999.9 FINE GOLD BULLION
!
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27 OF ONLY 30 SOLID GOLD EVER MADE
!!
THERE WERE 160 SILVER COINS MINTED
BUT ONLY 30 IN GOLD
!!
DESIGNED BY BRUCE G. ELMEGREEN (BGE) AND MODIFIED BY
TOMMY SASSEEN (TS) THE DESIGNER OF THE FAMOUS KRUGERRAND
!!!
STUNNING HIGH RELIEF PROOF CAMEO
!!!
Venus makes two passes across the sun, eight years apart, every 122 years. The next transit will be in 2012. Prior to 2004, no living person had witnessed this rare occassion which last occured in 1882.
This Transit of Venus commemoratition
solid gold coin
is as rare as the 'transits' in that
only 30 Gold pieces were ever minted
by the Gold Reef City Mint in Johannesburg.
THERE WERE 160
SILVER
COINS MINTED
BUT ONLY 30 IN GOLD
!!!
These medallion coins were distributed to identified individuals who included astronomers from across the globe and others including the President of South Africa who was given one of the 30.
The coin marked the pioneering research done on "cosmic dust" at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
Addressing the coin recipients at a dinner held at Sun City, South Africa, Reserve Bank Governor, Tito Mboweni echoed the following remark: "If economists could predict economic trends the same way astromers have mastered the movement of the solar system...it would be much easier to resolve economic problems"
Medallion Obverse
The obverse shows the symbolic transit of Venus, using a Sable Antelope (first discovered not far from the Pilanesburg in South Africa) charging across the Sun, which is shown just above the horizon, during the early morning time of the transit. The horizon line represents the flat horizon of the savannah, perhaps the most famous landscape of South Africa and has been positioned to represent the path of Venus across the face of the Sun, relative to the edge of the medallion. A typical African tree emphasizes the horizon line, which depicts (not to scale) a silhouette of Venus on the line of transit. The main text is "Venus Transits the Sun," while in the disc of the Sun is the Latin inscription "Soli Deo Gloria" which means "To God alone be the Glory."
Beneath the horizon is an African proverb, "Walala Wasala". This phrase means "You snooze, you lose!"
The date "8 June 2004" and "South Africa" also appear.
Medallion Reverse
Mary Cummings and her role in the previous transit of Venus, is the theme of the reverse of the medallion.
Her image is displayed against a background of the paths of previous and future transits. Mary was a teacher at the Huguenot Seminary for girls in Wellington, South Africa. She was a member of the class of 1876 at Mt. Holyoke Seminary in Massachusetts (USA) and moved to Wellington, South Africa, to teach in 1877.
In 1882, just in time for the transit of Venus, the 6" Fitz refractor telescope that Mary had used as a student at Mt. Holyoke was moved to Wellington and set up by the Astronomer Royal at the Cape, Sir David Gill.
Mary Cummings symbolizes the essential role played by women in astronomy, and is particularly famous for her observations of the last transit of Venus in South Africa on December 6, 1882.
The medallion was generously sponsored by the Anglo American Chairman’s Fund. The original was designed by Bruce G. Elmegreen of IBM-USA, and modified by Tommy Sasseen, the die sinker who designed the Kruger Rand.
The obverse shows the symbolic transit of Venus, using a Sable Antelope (first discovered not far from the Pilanesburg in South Africa) charging across the Sun, which is shown just above the horizon, during the early morning time of the transit. The horizon line represents the flat horizon of the savannah, perhaps the most famous landscape of South Africa and has been positioned to represent the path of Venus across the face of the Sun, relative to the edge of the medallion. A typical African tree emphasizes the horizon line, which depicts (not to scale) a silhouette of Venus on the line of transit. The main text is "Venus Transits the Sun," while in the disc of the Sun is the Latin inscription "Soli Deo Gloria" which means "To God alone be the Glory."
Beneath the horizon is an African proverb, "Walala Wasala". This phrase means "You snooze, you lose!"
The date "8 June 2004" and "South Africa" also appear.
TERMS:
Payment is requested when auction ends.