Semi-Numismatic

2 oz Silver High Relief Octagonal - Panama-Pacific

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This striking silver piece is minted in an unusual eight-sided format, replicating the famous fifty-dollar gold coin issued for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. Held in San Francisco, that grand world's fair celebrated the monumental completion of the Panama Canal. The United States Mint marked the occasion by producing special commemorative coins, including the massive octagonal fifty-dollar gold piece that inspires this modern silver tribute. The front of the octagonal round displays a detailed profile of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, facing left while wearing a decorative crested helmet. Her shield features the year of the exposition written in Roman numerals. Surrounding her likeness are the inscriptions "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA", "IN GOD WE TRUST", and "TWO TROY OUNCES". On the back, an owl, representing wisdom, is shown perched on a branch of a Ponderosa Pine amidst pinecones. The reverse also bears the "S" mint mark, alongside the phrases "PANAMA PACIFIC EXPOSITION", "SAN FRANCISCO", and "E PLURIBUS UNUM". Although this replica is struck from two ounces of 0.999 fine silver, it also retains the inscription "0.9999 FINE AU" as a nod to the original gold coin's composition.