2021 Chad 10,000 Francs - Van Gogh: Starry Night - 2oz Silver w/ Copper (#17)

One of the most renowned and respected artists in the world, Vincent van Gogh was a post-Impressionist painter who is heavily credited for laying the foundation and inspiration for much of 20th-century art. In his lifetime, he had completed more than 2,100 works, consisting of oil paintings, watercolor drawings, and sketches. Some of his most prominent works include “Starry Night”, “Sunflowers” and “The Potato Eaters”. Despite struggling with mental illness and health issues throughout his life, he pursued art and painting with passion and spirit, choosing to devote much of his money and time to art than anything else. Appreciation of his art grew exponentially after his suicide, and he gained posthumous fame and admiration to be considered one of the greatest artists in history.

Little introduction is required for van Gogh’s Starry Night – his magnum opus, the most acclaimed and prominent painting of his career as a painter, and possibly one of the most well-recognized pieces of art around the world even till modern day. Painted in 1889 while van Gogh was residing at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole sanatorium.

On the reverse, the painting is delivered as is and in super high relief, especially mirroring the texture of the actual artwork with its swirling brushstrokes and patterns. Every detail thus remains crisp and clear from the crescent moon down to the morning star, the luminescent colors gleaming beautifully. A reed pen copy of the painting sits on the obverse, also the work of van Gogh on a different medium. The legal tender is presented on this face, stylized and laid across with a brush-like finish to complement the real painting.

On a canvas of 145 x 110mm, a new minting technique called “Bi-Metal Max” was applied to give this piece its remarkable weight while keeping its proportions true to the actual painting. This is made possible by combining 33.5 oz of copper as a base with a top layer of 2 oz of 999 fine silver, resulting in super high relief.