Angel (Manx coin) explained

Denomination:Gold Angel
Country:Isle of Man
Value:1
Unit:Angel
Mass G:31.1
Mass Troy Oz:1.0
Diameter Mm:32.7
Diameter Inch:1.28
Thickness Mm:2.8
Thickness Inch:0.11
Edge:Reeded
Years Of Minting:1984-present
Obverse:Isle of Man Angel coin obverse.png
Obverse Designer:Ian Rank-Broadley
Obverse Design Date:1996
Reverse:Isle of Man Angel coin reverse left.png
Reverse Design:Facing left, Archangel Michael is slaying a dragon
Reverse2:Isle of Man Angel coin reverse right.png
Reverse2 Design:The upright Archangel Michael, facing right version

Manx Angels are gold or silver bullion coins distributed by the Isle of Man and minted by private companies. The Isle of Man is not part of the United Kingdom. It is a Crown dependency and thus can mint its own coins. The coin depicts Archangel Michael slaying a dragon. The silver coins have not been minted every year, but have an erratic schedule. Angels are legal tender but they do not have a fixed face value; instead, like the Krugerrand or Mexico's Libertad, they are legal tender to the value of their precious metal content.

Specifications

The gold coins contain various amount of fineness. Depending on the year and the coin's size, it could contain 91.7% gold (.917 fine), 99.9% gold (.999 fine) or 99.99% gold (.9999 fine). The silver coins either contain 99.9% silver (.999 fine) or 99.99% silver (.9999 fine). The following table lists the coin's gold weight in troy ounces and the total weight of the coin in grams.

Specifications[1] [2]
CompositionWeight
(troy oz)
.917 fine.999 fine
Weight
(grams)
Diameter
(mm)
Weight
(grams)
Diameter
(mm)
Thickness
(mm)
Gold20678.6775.2---
15508.9665.4---
10339.3456---
5169.6750155.550
133.933331.132.72.8
16.942715.55272.2
8.48227.78221.8
3.3916.53.1116.51.25
1.7151.5614.50.8
--0.5110.8
Silver1--31.138.63.0

Design

Obverse

Shows a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II with the text Isle of Man and Elizabeth II in capitals. There have been four different portraits of Queen Elizabeth used on the coins. The 1984 coin showed the second coin portrait, done when the Queen was in her early 40s. The third coin portrait, of the Queen in her 50s, was used between 1985 and 1997. The fourth portrait, of the 70-year old Queen, was used between 1998 and 2014. Since 2015, the fifth coin portrait has been used.

Reverse

Shows Archangel Michael fighting the dragon. In small lettering beneath the dragon, metal content, coin size and fineness are given. The design is framed by an elaborate Viking knit motif border with the island's coat of arms, the triskele, appearing at the top, above the ship's flag. The motif of Michael or a Saint slaying a dragon is found in other coins. Michael is used in Ukraine's Archangel Michael gold and silver bullion coins. Russia's Saint George the Victorious bullion coins show Saint George slaying a dragon. The United Kingdom's Sovereign gold bullion also show Saint George fighting a dragon. There have been three primary designs for the Angel. From 1984 to 1993, the Angel faced left. From 1994 to 2007, the Angel faced right. In 2008 and from 2010 to 2015, the Angel still faced right, but in a more upright position. The Angel changed back to the left facing pose starting in 2016. Some left facing coins were produced in 2014. The 2009 version of the coin had three different designs that haven't been produced before or since.

History and mintages

The Isle of Man has used three private mints to make their Angel coins, the English Pobjoy Mint from 1984 until 2016, Liechtenstein's Coin Investment Trust (CIT)[3] and the English Tower Mint for coins after 2016 .[4] [5]

Several bimetallic coins have been minted. A 1995 quarter-ounce gold centered, platinum ring coin. A 2007 one-ounce gold coin with a silver ring. A 2011 one-ounce with the ring made of gold and the center platinum.

A two-ounce silver coin was produced in 2017 and 2018 with 999 minted each year. The 2015 silver coin had gilding applied to the Angel side of the coin and the 2017 silver coin had gilded highlights. Each year, the -ounce gold coins had a different privy mark above the dragon's head. Each year's privy mark related to a different day from the song 12 Days of Christmas.

The following table shows mintages of proof coins unless noted with a (b).
NR - Mintage numbers not released
(b) - Brilliant uncirculated finish. Not a proof coin

Mintages for gold and silver coins[6] [7]
YearGoldSilver
oz oz oz oz oz1 oz5 oz10 oz15 oz1 oz
1984- - - - - NR (b) - - - -
3,000
1985- - 17,000 (b) 2,117 (b) 1,776 (b) 28,000 (b) 104 (b) 79 (b) - -
3,00051513,0009068
1986- - NR (b) 1,000 NR (b) NR (b) 89 (b) 47 (b) - -
NRNR3,000NR250250
1987- - NR (b) NR (b) NR (b) NR (b) 150 (b) 30 (b) 150 (b) -
NR2,500+NRNR2715018
1988- - NR (b) NR (b) NR (b) NR (b) 250 (b) 250 - -
1,0003,0001,000
1989- - 250 NR (b) - - - - - -
3,500
1990- - 1,000 2,000 (b) - - - - - -
2,450
1991- - 400 710 - - - - - -
1992- - 100 - - - - - - -
1993- - - NR - - - - - -
1994- - NR NR NR (b) NR (b) - - - NR
NRNR
1995- - NR (b) NR (b) NR (b) NR (b) - - - -
NRNRNRNR
1996- - NR (b) NR (b) NR (b) NR (b) - - - -
NRNRNRNR
1997- - NR (b) NR (b) NR (b) NR (b) - - - -
NRNRNRNR
1998- - NR (b) NR (b) NR (b) NR (b) - - - -
NRNRNRNR
1999- - NR (b) NR (b) NR (b) NR (b) - - - -
NRNRNRNR
2000- - NR (b) NR (b) - NR (b) - - - -
NRNRNR
2001- NR (b) NR (b) NR (b) - NR (b) - - - -
NRNRNRNR
2002- NR (b) NR (b) NR (b) - NR (b) - - - -
NRNRNRNR
2003- NR (b) - NR (b) NR (b) - NR (b) - - - -
NRNRNRNR
2004- NR (b) NR (b) NR (b) - NR (b) - - - -
NRNRNRNR
2005- NR (b) NR (b) NR (b) - NR (b) - - - -
NRNRNR500
2006- NR (b) - - - NR (b) - - - -
NRNR
2007- NR (b) - - - NR (b) - - - -
NRNR
2008- 1,000 - - 500 (b) NR (b) - - - -
NR
2009- 1,000 NR (b) 20,000 - NR - - - -
2010- 1,000 - - - NR (b) - - - 50,000
NR
2011- 1,000 - - - NR (b) - - - -
NR
2012- 1,000 NR (b) - 999 (b) NR - - - -
2013- 1,000 - - - - - - - -
2014- 1,000 2,016 - 999 NR (b) - - - NR (b)
2015- 1,000 - - 999 NR (b) - - - NR (b)
6,000
2016- - NR - - NR (b) - - - 100,000
5,000
201715,000 - 2,499 999 - 100 (b) - - - NR (b)
5,500
201815,000 - - - - 100 (b) - - - 15,000
2019- - 2,499 999 NR NR - - - 9,999

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Manx Angel . Colnect . 11 March 2010.
  2. Web site: Isle of Man Gold Angels . APMEX . 11 March 2020.
  3. Web site: Isle of Man Angels . CIT . 10 March 2020.
  4. Web site: 2017 Isle of Man Angel . Tower Mint . 10 March 2020.
  5. Web site: 2018 Isle of Man Angel . Tower Mint . 10 March 2020.
  6. Book: 2020 Standard Catalog of World Coins - 1901–2000 . 47th . 2019 . Krause Publications . 978-1-4402-4896-2.
  7. Book: 2020 Standard Catalog of World Coins - 2001–Date . 14th . 2019 . Krause Publications . 978-1-4402-4897-9.