This is a (draft) image of a €2 commem that the Vatican will issue later this year:


http://www.zwei-euro.com/zwei-euro/vatikan...twurf-gross.gif

The coin commemorates the World Youth Day in Cologne earlier this year. Fine so far. And now look at this. Seems familiar, huh?

http://i13.ebayimg.com/03/i/05/1c/e6/01_1_b.JPG

No, that is not a 2 euro bi-met piece but a 5 dollar gold "coin". The image is from this auction:
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8343265059

The description is in German (and quite misleading IMO ...) but look at the image of the folder/sheet at the bottom of the page. The text is difficult to read but I think it says that the diameter is about 13 mm - about half of the diameter of the original €2 piece. Now what does the CNMI have to do with a Vatican coin?

Christian

So that they can "leech" a tiny bit of money from foolish buyers... that's so not right...

That is sleazy. We either need to make the N.Marianas part of the US legal system or get rid of those islands. Nothing but sleaze there now.

My favourite Cathedral, I have a huge print of it hanging in my living room, I hauled it all the way back from Cologne.

Whoa, that's a horrible case of copying. (in terms of deceipt)

Right, I like the cathedral in Cologne too (in general I prefer Romanesque architecture, but Gothic is fine too ). That church will probably also appear on our North Rhine Westphalia "state twoer" to be issued in 2011 ... Guess it is fairly normal (though sometimes lamentable) that other countries, or entities such as the CNMI, jump on the bandwagon of a popular theme. What I found surprising at the very least is that the entire obverse - design, country name and all - was simply copied.

Ah, no - they did remove the "R" (Rome) mint mark.

Christian

I sent him an email asking if it was a Vatican coin, why it was in a folder from the CNMI. His answer was that it was a Vatican issue.

Could be the seller is just clueless. Did you inform his this was not the official issue?

Some of his comments on negative feedback suggest otherwise. Of course, had the CNMI not issued a piece that is an exact copy (design wise) of the Vatican coin's obverse, nobody could sell these pieces more or less subtly suggesting they are Vatican issues ...

Christian

I wonder who runs that outfit. Those Islands are a haven for the unethical.

By the way, the first pictures of the actual Vatican coin have been published.



Much better than the draft images, I think.

Christian

Nice what does the shooting star represent?

Beautiful coin.

It is some kind of pointer. According to a description I have read, this star leads (well, led) the youth of the world to Cologne like the Magi were shown the way to Bethlehem. The church depicted is the cathedral in Cologne where this year's World Youth Day was, and the waves below represent the river Rhine. Maybe the "shooting star" analogy was also used because that cathedral has the Shrine of the Magi.

Christian