Silver Coin 5 Oz Discovery of the New World - Leif Eriksson 2020 Pearl Proof

5 Oz Silver Coin with Pearl - Discovery of the New World

This unique silver coin with an inner core of genuine mother of pearl is part of the "Mother of Pearl" series. Minted in the purest 99.9% silver, the 5 Oz (155.5 g) coin is being issued by the Solomon Islands State for 2020 to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of the discovery of the American continent by the Vikings under the leadership of Leif Eriksson.

The blue-hued inner pearl, set into the coin, depicts a Viking ship on its reverse on its sea voyage, with the likeness of the legendary Viking in the foreground left and his name "LEIF ERIKSSON" at the top. Parts of the image also transition into the outer ring of the coin, which bears the inscription "DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD" and the year of issue "2020".
The first European to reach the shores of North America was the Viking explorer Leif Eriksson. This was approximately 1,000 years ago, 500 years before the voyage of Christopher Columbus.
Leif Erikson was originally Norwegian, but was born around 970 in Iceland and subsequently grew up in Greenland. His entire family was relocated from the Icelandic colony to the Greenlandic exile for his father's crimes. This was Erik the Red, who thus became the discoverer and first settler of Greenland. Leif was raised as a traditional Viking, to love the sea and knowledge of navigation.
On his visit to Norway, he converted to Christianity and, at the behest of King Olaf I. Tryggvason, he set out to spread the faith to other Viking settlers. The description of his subsequent voyage is not entirely clear from various sources. The fact is that he reached the shores of the North American continent and called it, after the wild grapes abundantly growing on the vine in that area, Vinland. According to some sources, he visited two other places before Vinland, which he named Helluland (Baffin Island) and Markland (Labrador Peninsula).
In the centuries that followed, evidence of Eriksson's landing was sought and recorded in Icelandic legends. In the 1960s, a Viking settlement dating to the 11th century was found in the northernmost part of Newfoundland, L'Anse aux Meadows. This settlement is consistent with the legends of the place where Leif is said to have spent the winter before returning to Greenland.

The obverse shows a traditional portrait of Queen Elizabeth II by Ian-Rank Broadley and the inscriptions "ELIZABETH II", "SOLOMON ISLANDS" and the face value.

The coin comes in a deluxe gift box along with a numbered certificate of authenticity in an extremely limited edition of only 750 pieces for the entire world!

Mother of Pearl Series
Coins in this series go through a lengthy and sophisticated production process. The mother-of-pearl is extracted from the shells of the world's largest pearlfish (sea pearl) - the Pinctada Maxima, which grows up to 30 cm in diameter. The oysters are farmed on pearl farms in perfectly isolated areas of the oceans off the coasts of Australia, Tahiti, Fiji, Indonesia and the Philippines. Their shells have a very thick inner shell made up of pearl. It takes up to 12 weeks to select the most beautiful pearl shells for the Mother of Pearl series. They are then shaped to the desired form and ultrasonic waves are used to create a motif that is worked out in minute detail. To achieve the individual colouring, the pearl is soaked in a bath with the appropriate colour for a further 5 weeks. The mother-of-pearl core is then inserted into the coin using a complicated technical process.

This product is part of the following product sets: