Beautiful World Coins

Celebrate the Great One with this 2011 Wayne & Walter Gretzky Silver Proof $25 Coin with Hologram

The Royal Canadian Mint is proud to issue this limited-edition 2011 Wayne & Walter Gretzky 99.99% pure silver proof $25 coin featuring the Great One in action with his father, Walter Gretzky, as a cameo.

In Canada, hockey rallies people together, serving as a common denominator among all Canadians. As a child, Wayne Gretzky practiced for hours on end, spending every available moment skating, shooting and practicing his stick-handling. When he was six years old, his father built him a skating rink in the backyard. But Walter Gretzky gave his son much more than an ice rink. He inspired a passion—an unstoppable longing to put blade to ice that transcended technical practice because it was infused with love, support and a sense of play. Today, Wayne is involved with numerous charitable organizations and works tirelessly to bring hockey to the physically challenged and disadvantaged. His father is as supportive as ever, nurturing a passion for which any son would be grateful and proud.

With each coin sold a portion of sales will be donated to Wayne Gretzky Foundation.

Year: 2011

Face value: 25 Dollars

Finish: Proof, with a holographic image of Wayne's jersey number 99 on the reverse

Composition: 99.99% Silver

Size: 38 mm

Weight: 31.39 grams

Mintage: 19,999

Coins for the Polish Olympic Team at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games

The National Bank of Poland just issued three coins commemorating the Polish Olympic Team at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games. Poland is expecting ambitious performances, new personal and national records and sportsmanlike conduct from Polish winter athletes.

For the first time in history, the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games will be held in a closed-roof stadium. The first Winter Olympic Games were held in Chamonix, France, in January and February 1924. They were then held as the International Winter Sports Week events, and were officially proclaimed the First Winter Olympic Games only a year later. The Polish national team, present at the competition among 16 national teams, consisted of only nine sportsmen.

All three coins show a stylized image of a maple leaf, a stylized logo of the Polish Olympic Committee, POLSKA REPREZENTACJA OLIMPIJSKA VANCOUVER 2010 (Polish Olympic Team Vancouver 2010), the face value, a stylized image of a snowflake, RZECZPOSPOLITA POLSKA (Republic of Poland), the year of issue, an image of the Eagle established as the emblem of the Republic of Poland, and the Mint’s mark. The gold coin shows a male cross-country skier. The silver coin shows two male speed skaters and a male biathlete. The 2Zl coin shows a male ski jumper.

Mint: Warsaw

Year: 2010

Face value: 200, 10 and 2 zlotych

Finish: Proof (200Zt, 10Zt) and Standard (2Zt)

Composition: 90% Gold (200Zt), 92.5% Silver (10Zt) and 89% Copper, 5% Zinc, 5% Aluminum, 1% Nickel (2Zt)

Size: 27 mm (200Zt, 2Zt) and 32 mm (10Zt)

Weight: 15.5 grams (200Zt), 14.14 grams (10Zt) and 8.15 grams (2Zt)

Mintage: 8,000 (200Zt), 80,000 (10Zt), and 1,400,000 (2Zt)

The Pheidippidis' Marathon Run 2,500th Anniversary 2010 Silver Proof High-Relief Coin

Issued by the Perth Mint as legal tender under the authority of the Government of Tuvalu, the Pheidippidis' Marathon Run 2,500th Anniversary Silver Proof High-Relief Coin features Pheidippidis’ arrival in Athens at the end of his famous run, where legend suggests he proclaimed victory with the word “nenikhkamen” (we have won) before expiring.

According to tradition, this year marks the 2,500th anniversary of Pheidippidis’ 25-mile run to Athens with news of the Greek army’s historic triumph at the Battle of Marathon in 490BC. His remarkable long-distance achievement inspired the introduction of Olympic marathon running in 1896, and has also influenced countless ordinary joggers to attempt the grueling 26.22 miles at one of today’s many high-profile marathon events.

Mint: Perth

Year: 2010

Face value: $1

Finish: Proof with High-Relief Reverse & Obverse

Composition: 99.9% silver

Size: 32.6 mm

Weight: 31.135 grams

Mintage: 5,000

Celebrate The Montreal Canadiens® 100-Years Anniversary With This Special Edition Silver Proof Dollar Coin

The Royal Canadian Mint celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Montreal Canadiens® hockey team with this 2009 special edition silver proof dollar coin featuring the Canadiens centennial official logo. The selective gold-plating over the logo and rim adds a rich contrast to this coin's proof silver finish.

On December 4, 1909, two days after the founding of the National Hockey Association and eight years prior to the formation of the NHL, the hockey world sees the birth of the Montreal Canadiens at Montreal’s Windsor Hotel thanks to businessman J. Ambrose O’Brien. The Montreal Canadiens® are the oldest and most successful franchise in professional hockey history. Fifty-four members of Hockey Hall of Fame, countless individual trophy winners, 15 retired jerseys, and of course, an NHL-record 24 Stanley Cup Championships – including an unprecedented five consecutive titles from 1956-1960 and an amazing 10 in 15 seasons from 1964-65 to 1978-79.

Mint: Ottawa

Year: 2009

Face value: 1 Dollar

Finish: Proof with gold accents

Composition: 92.5% Silver, 7.5% Copper

Size: 36.07 mm

Weight: 25.175 grams

Mintage: 15,000