Silver Coin 5 Oz Year of the Ox 2021 Proof

5 Oz Silver Coin with Pearl - Year of the Buffalo 2021

Following the huge success of the silver and gold coins with mother of pearl issued in previous years, another unique silver coin with mother of pearl is being released for 2021, dedicated to the Chinese lunar cycle - the Year of the Buffalo.

This five-ounce coin (155.5 g) issued by the State of Cook Islands is minted in 2020 in the purest 99.9% silver purity and features an inner core of genuine mother-of-pearl.

The pearlescent core in an ochre hue on its reverse depicts a frontal view of a buffalo on the banks of a river in the foothills. The background shows a cub, a farm building, aquatic vegetation, forests and mountain peaks above. The outer silver circle bears the inscriptions 'YEAR OF THE OX' and '2021'.

The obverse contains a traditional portrait of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain by Ian-Rank Broadley and the inscriptions 'ELIZABETH II', 'COOK ISLAND', the artist's initials 'IRB', the face value and the weight and fineness of the silver.

The coin is encased in its original cut glass presentation plate and comes in a deluxe gift case along with a numbered certificate of authenticity in a limited edition of only 888 pieces for the entire world!

Lunar Coin "Mother of Pearl"
The coins in this series go through a lengthy and sophisticated production process. The pearl is extracted from the shells of the largest pearlfish (sea pearl) in the world - Pinctada Maxima, which grow 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 shape 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: