Luna Geocoin - Pearl in the Sea Edition

"Round she is, yet flat as a board
Altar of the Lupine Lords.
Jewel on black velvet, pearl in the sea
Unchanged but e'er changing, eternally."

This coin was designed to expose people to the names of the lunar features. Many people know that the first humans set foot on the moon in the Sea of Tranquility. What many do not know is that there are many other lunar features such as the Sea of Nectar, the Sea of Clouds, the Land of Manna, the Land of Vitality, and the Ocean of Storms. These names have been around for centuries.

One side of the coin shows the moon as a fantasy map. The idea being that the moon used to be lush and green, but that some great disaster reduced the moon to what we see today. The reality is a bit more mundane. Astronomers using early telescopes thought that the moon might be a world like our own and that the light features were land and the dark features bodies of water.

The back side of the coin shows an accurate topographic representation. The data to produce the image came from the Clementine spacecraft.


Some other editions of this coin are:
BLUE MOON - This XLE coin was limited to 30 pieces and it will never again be minted. The colored enamel is dark blue transparent glass and light blue opaque glass.
MOON RISE - Many people have noted that when the moon is low on the horizon at moonrise and moonset, it exhibits an orange color. This is similar to the red or orange color of the sun at sunset and is due to dust in the atmosphere. This coin glows in the dark
DESERTIFICATION- This coin is finished in sand and blue colored glass. According to the Royal Lunar Annals, there was a terrible period of lunar history when the great ocean and the seas began to boil off into space. This age lasted for several hundred years and during that time, the land transformed into sand and dust, while the seas shrank and became saltier. The poets, however did find some beauty in the stark landscapes and the strange blueness of the water. When people swam in the highly saline water, they floated so high that it was possible to read a journal while fully immersed. It was a horrible time, it was a wonderful time.
ECLIPSE – the coin is made of solid copper with a black wash and the red color in the seas is fused silica glass. The moon appears red during a full eclipse because the earth is blocking the direct sunlight, but red light is refracted by the earth’s atmosphere thus giving the moon a bloody color.
CATACLYSM – This edition is closest to what the moon looks like today. The idea behind the name is that some sort of cataclysm transformed the moon from a green world covered in water to the barren rock we now see in the sky. The metal finish is black nickel. The white parts of the coin glow in the dark.
SIDEREAL SEA – The word sidereal is Latin for “starry”. This name was chosen since the moon moves through a sea of stars and to imply that perhaps the lunar seas reflect back starlight. The metal finish is antique nickel.
RENAISSANCE - features 18 karat gold with an antique wash, blue swirl enamel, and opaque green hard enamel. The name comes from the idea that the Renaissance astronomers who made early maps of the moon would have used luxurious materials to make their maps and models, thus the gold and the pearly swirl.
GOLDEN AGE – The idea behind the name of this edition is that there once was a time on the moon when everything was better. The seas and the great ocean still teamed with life, the royal barges sailed through the Sea of Nectar along the Manna coasts, and the skies over the Southern continent were loud with bird song. The green and blue color is fused silica glass and the metal finish is 18 karat gold. This is a limited edition of thirty-one coins and they will never again be produced.

The Luna coins are 2" in diameter and have a unique icon showing a stunning view of the moon.

This edition features blue and white pearl enamel on one side and an 18 karat gold finish.

Brand: Gregson Vaux Artifacts
LE 50 minted