2022 - Niue 10 NZD Gold Quater-ounce Coin Discovery of America - Christopher Columbus - Proof

Discovery of America

On the second gold coin of the Czech Mint from the miniseries entitled Discovery of America you will find the adventures of the italian navigator Christopher Columbus.

A boy named Christopher Columbus was born in the Italian port city of Genoa in 1451. He sailed the seas from the age of twelve, taking merchant ships to Portugal, England, the shores of Africa and Iceland. He dreamed of going in an unexplored western direction, reaching China and India and circumnavigating the world. No one had ever tried it before - for the seemingly endless ocean was terrifying even to expert sailors. In an effort to raise funds for his dream voyage, Columbus approached a number of royal courts. The kings of Portugal, England and France rejected him. It was not until Spain that he succeeded. He did not get much from his providers - just a loan and three ships - but he was finally able to set sail. The Pinta, Niña, and Santa María set sail on August 3, 1492, for India, which was to provide Spain not only with wealth in the form of exotic spices but also new sheep for the Christian flock. Columbus was a keen cartographer and navigator, but he miscalculated the circumference of the Earth. If he had known that India was actually three times farther than he thought, he would never have sailed west. The ships would not have carried enough supplies and all his sailors would have died. On 12 October 1492, however, Columbus reached the unknown island, which confirmed his belief that his calculations were correct. He assumed that he had reached the eastern shore of India and therefore called the local inhabitants Indians. But in fact he had discovered the Bahamas. Although the continent we call America was already known to the ancient Vikings, it was Columbus's expeditions that aroused European interest and led to its colonisation. However, until his death in 1506, Columbus was convinced that he had landed on Asian shores…

The reverse side of the commemorative coin, which is the work of the medal maker Mgr. Petr Horák, presents a profile portrait of Christopher Columbus. The coin's surface is filled with waves together with three Spanish rocking sailing ships. The waves surrounding North and South America can also be found on the obverse side, which is common to the entire series of explorer coins. As the licence to issue the Czech Mint commemorative coins is granted by the Pacific island of Niue, the obverse side still bears its necessary attributes - the name and portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, the nominal value of 10 DOLLARS (NZD) and the year of issue 2022.

The package includes a spectacular booklet that presents Columbus' voyages to America in words and pictures.