IN IMAGES: Spain launches rare €1.5 Iberian lynx bullion coin
Spain’s Royal Mint has minted and launched a series of €1.5 gold coins with the symbol of the Iberian lynx as the main image.
With a value of €1.5 , there have only been 12,000 units released so the value is expected to eventually be much higher. Put into circulation this month, the special lynx coins are not ordinary euro coins, but the first bullion coins in Spain.
With a diameter of 37 mm, the face shows the value of €1.5 , together with the image of the head of an Iberian lynx. Due to the fact that retail price is more than the cost of €1.5 - the value of the coin - it is expected the lynx coin will be a collectors piece and not used for purchases.
What are bullion coins and what are they for?
With the minting of the €1.5 coin, Spain’s royal mint has produced a bullion coin for the first time. They are not intended to be in regular circulation, or used for normal purchases, but rather as a way of storing value.
They are collector's items, storing value and investment when exchanged with the right buyers.
Technically speaking, the term bullion refers to ingot and are usually coins designed by private companies for collections. It is surprising, therefore, that Spain’s Royal Mint has joined countries such as the United States, Australia and South Africa, in producing their own bullion coins.
According to the Royal Mint, the coin will be sold through distributors worldwide, and will arrive encapsulated.
It can also be bought directly from the company commissioned to produce the custom-made currency, Degussa.
Even though it's technically a €1.5, the sale price to the public is based on the price of gold at each moment plus 10 percent, so it could work out to be more than €1.5.
The bullion coin won't be able to be used to buy products in shops as it's a collector's item which doesn't serve that purpose
The design
The design harks back to Spanish history, and is reminiscent of silver and gold coins minted in Spain and the New World between the 16th and 19th centuries. One face recreates the famous Columnario del Real de a Ocho: two images of the old and new worlds, the territories of the Spanish Empire on either side of the Atlantic ocean, flanked by two crowned columns. Sitting above the globes is the Spanish crown and the mark of King Felipe VI.
The reverse side includes the head of the Iberian lynx, native to the Iberian Peninsula.
Not only is the animal incredibly rare, but also one of the most elusive species in the world, rarely seen because they choose to live in some of the wildest and most remote parts of Spain - something sure to make it a favourite with collectors.
Written by Conor Faulkner
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With a value of €1.5 , there have only been 12,000 units released so the value is expected to eventually be much higher. Put into circulation this month, the special lynx coins are not ordinary euro coins, but the first bullion coins in Spain.
With a diameter of 37 mm, the face shows the value of €1.5 , together with the image of the head of an Iberian lynx. Due to the fact that retail price is more than the cost of €1.5 - the value of the coin - it is expected the lynx coin will be a collectors piece and not used for purchases.
What are bullion coins and what are they for?
With the minting of the €1.5 coin, Spain’s royal mint has produced a bullion coin for the first time. They are not intended to be in regular circulation, or used for normal purchases, but rather as a way of storing value.
They are collector's items, storing value and investment when exchanged with the right buyers.
Technically speaking, the term bullion refers to ingot and are usually coins designed by private companies for collections. It is surprising, therefore, that Spain’s Royal Mint has joined countries such as the United States, Australia and South Africa, in producing their own bullion coins.
According to the Royal Mint, the coin will be sold through distributors worldwide, and will arrive encapsulated.
It can also be bought directly from the company commissioned to produce the custom-made currency, Degussa.
Even though it's technically a €1.5, the sale price to the public is based on the price of gold at each moment plus 10 percent, so it could work out to be more than €1.5.
The bullion coin won't be able to be used to buy products in shops as it's a collector's item which doesn't serve that purpose
The design
The design harks back to Spanish history, and is reminiscent of silver and gold coins minted in Spain and the New World between the 16th and 19th centuries. One face recreates the famous Columnario del Real de a Ocho: two images of the old and new worlds, the territories of the Spanish Empire on either side of the Atlantic ocean, flanked by two crowned columns. Sitting above the globes is the Spanish crown and the mark of King Felipe VI.
The reverse side includes the head of the Iberian lynx, native to the Iberian Peninsula.
Not only is the animal incredibly rare, but also one of the most elusive species in the world, rarely seen because they choose to live in some of the wildest and most remote parts of Spain - something sure to make it a favourite with collectors.
Written by Conor Faulkner
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