Set Description
Coins representing years and countries of important / interesting events in the Baha'i Faith.
Set Goals
Collect coins from years and countries that match memorable historical events in the Baha'i Faith, including the lives of Its Central Figures (Baha'u'llah, the Bab, 'Abdu'l-Baha), as well as Shoghi Effendi, Hands of the Cause, Universal House of Justice, and Institutions... plus, a few personal dates, like 1970 when my mom became the family's first Baha'i. :-)
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|
View Coin
| Marriage of Baha'u'llah + Navvab |
United States
|
GOLD $5 1835
|
NGC AU 50
|
1835 * Marriage of Bahá'u'lláh *
In 1835 Baháʼu'lláh married Ásíyih Khánum (K͟hánum is a title usually given to a Persian lady and is equivalent to madam). She was given the title Navváb, meaning Most Exalted Leaf. Baháʼu'lláh and Ásíyih Khánum became known as the Father of the Poor and the Mother of Consolation for their extraordinary generosity and regard for the impoverished.
Navváb became the mother of 'Abdu'l-Bahá (the Mightiest Branch), Bahíyyih (The Greatest Holy Leaf), and Mirzá Mihdíh (the Purest Branch) ..... Baháʼu'lláh, Navváb, and their children are known as the Holy Family in the Baháʼí Faith.
Bahá'u'lláh and Navváb were married 50 years, until her passing in 1886, thus the desire for a coin with a grade of AU50. :-)
|
|
|
View Coin
| Martyrdom of the Bab
Holy Day 7 |
United States
|
GOLD $20 1850 O
|
NGC AU 55
|
1850 Martyrdom of the Báb
On July 9 in Tabriz, Persia, the Báb (a title meaning the Gate), Forerunner and Prophet-Herald of the Bahá'í Faith, only thirty years old, was martyred. A Muslim regiment of 750 rifles shot him and Anis (tied to His chest) in front of 10,000 witnesses. This was after a Christian regiment -- whose commander did not want to kill the Báb -- fired and missed, cutting only the ropes that held both against the wall.
"The very moment the shots were fired a gale of exceptional violence arose and swept over the city. From noon till night a whirlwind of dust obscured the light of the sun, and blinded the eyes of the people. In Shíráz an “earthquake,” foreshadowed in no less weighty a Book than the Revelation of St. John, occurred in 1268 A.H. which threw the whole city into turmoil and wrought havoc amongst its people, a havoc that was greatly aggravated by the outbreak of cholera, by famine and other afflictions. In that same year no less than two hundred and fifty of the firing squad, that had replaced Sám Khán’s (Christian) regiment, met their death, together with their officers, in a terrible earthquake, while the remaining five hundred suffered, three years later, as a punishment for their mutiny, the same fate as that which their hands had inflicted upon the Báb. To insure that none of them had survived, they were riddled with a second volley, after which their bodies, pierced with spears and lances, were exposed to the gaze of the people of Tabríz. The prime instigator of the Báb’s death, the implacable Amír-Nizám, together with his brother, his chief accomplice, met their death within two years of that savage act." (Shoghi Effendi, "God Passes By")
*********
1850 was the first year $20 Gold Double Eagles were minted in the U.S., born of the need to make useful the greatest mass of gold ever discovered during the California Gold Rush. This precious metal bonanza had far-reaching effects on the development of the USA, as well as the world's coinage, just as the life of the Báb, cut short on that mid-summer day in Persia, had on the advancement of human civilization.
|
|
|
View Coin
| Beginning of Baha'i Faith
Holy Day 5 |
United States
|
GOLD $5 1844 O CAC
|
NGC AU 58
|
*1844 represents the beginning of the Baha'i Faith*, when the Bab declared His mission on the evening of 22 May and into the early morning hours of 23 May. It is interesting to note that inventor Samuel F.B. Morse on May 24, 1844, sent the first telegraph message from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore, asking: "What hath God wrought?"
|
|
|
View Coin
| Birth of Baha'u'llah
Holy Day 9 |
GREAT BRITAIN 1816-1901 UNITED KINGDOM KING GEORGE III
|
GOLD 1/2SOV 1817 G.britain
|
NGC PF 63 ULTRA CAMEO
|
*1817 Birth of Baha'u'llah*
www.bahai.org
www.bahaullah.org
Born Mírzá Ḥusayn-`Alí Núrí (Persian: میرزا حسینعلی نوری), in Tehran, capital of the Persian Empire, He became the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith, youngest of the world religions, which advocates universal peace and unity among all races, nations, and religions.
Scholars trace His ancestry back to Abraham through Abraham's wife Keturah, to Zoroaster, to Yazdgerd III, the last king of the Sassanid Empire, and also to Jesse, father of King David.
*********
Here is a superlative Proof, produced at the height of the Great Recoinage, when pride was restored in British coin engraving, and the then-current lackluster designs were overhauled to herald such masterpieces as this. Renowned designer Benedetto Pistrucci (esp. famous for St. George slaying a dragon on reverse of full sovereign) created the portrait of King George III.
In 1816 there was a major change in British coinage powered by the industrial revolution. The Royal Mint moved from the Tower of London to new premises on nearby Tower Hill, and acquired powerful new steam-driven coining presses supplied by James Watt, Mathew Boulton and Messr Rennie.
In 1817 the "modern" half-sovereign was born.This coin was extensively used by the worldwide UK population, minted regularly for more than 100 years (until 1915 at the Royal Mint, until 1918 in Australia, until 1926 in S.Africa) and were regular circulating coins until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939. At about that time, most countries in the world reduced or stopped production of gold coins for circulation and switched to a "token" coinage.
NGC Census for 1817 Half Sovereigns shows population total only three Ultra Cameos -- two graded PF63UC (one is this coin here), and one finer at PF65UC.
This coin's fields are dual mirrors bearing only light hairlines, center devices luxuriously frosted and bold; a piece struck to an impeccable standard and designed to impress the viewer, a feat it achieves effortlessly. Proofs of Record allow an entirely different appreciation of a given coinage variety, wherein the design that numismatists are quite familiar with as a business strike takes on a singular appearance and quality, cumulating in a beauty so intense and surprising that it takes one's breath away. Premium for the grade and extremely rare, this coin is an outstanding numismatic jewel.
*********
OBVERSE: Laureate head of King George III facing right; hair short; the tie has a loop and two hanging ends; the King's neck is bare. Below, the date 1817; around, commencing at the bottom of the coin, the legend GEORGIUS III DEI GRATIA (from Latin) "George the Third, by the Grace of God".
REVERSE: Featuring the Royal Arms, an angular shield quartered with the arms of England (twice), Ireland and Scotland, along with the German dominion of Hanover in the center (King George III was descended from the House of Hanover and ruled this area after the Napoleonic wars), surmounted by the Electoral crown. Beginning at bottom of the coin and around, the legend REX FID: DEF: BRITANNIARUM ("King of the British, Defender of the Faith"), with crown at top between words.
ALIGNMENT: reverse die axis
DESIGNER: Benedetto Pistrucci
DIAMETER: 19.3mm
THICKNESS: 0.99mm
EDGE: Milled
WEIGHT: 3.99g
ALLOY: 22 Carat
FINENESS: 0.9167
ACTUAL GOLD CONTENT: 0.1177 troy oz
Many thanks to TMS Coins, from who I am learning a lot by reading his descriptions and comments. Check out his collections for many of the best sets ever assembled.
|
|
 | Loading… |
|
|