During a crisis investors get rid of shares in order to buy gold, pieces of art and numismatic specimens. Gold coins with amber of the “Amber Route” series are getting more and more popular.
This beautiful series is going to consist of eight numismatic specimens, having a nominal value of 5 dollars, commemorating the cities from the shortest route connecting – in the era of ancient Rome – coasts of the Adriatic and the Baltic Sea, the famous “Amber Route”: Kaliningrad (Russia) and Gdansk (Poland), Elblag (Poland) and Wroclaw (Poland), Stare Hradisko (Czech Republic) and Szombathely (Hungary), Carnuntum (Austria) and Aquileia (Italy). The coins of this series clearly refer with its subject matter and appearance to the “Amber Route of 2001” coin, issued in the amount of 30 thousand pieces, which turned out to be a great numismatic and investment best-seller. Interesting subject, extremely limited edition, a project enchanting with details and amber, which attracts attention, constitute the chief assets of this series.
2 coins a year
Every year two specimens of this series appear on the market – they weigh 15 grams (gold Au 900 + amber, diameter – 27 mm) and they are issued in the amount of only 2 thousand each. In August 2008 the “Kalinigrad” coin was issued and it is already unavailable on many numismatic auction portals and its price amounts to PLN 2 000. The issue of the second coin of this series, entitled Gdansk, is predicted by Niue Island (issuer) and Mennica Panstwowa S.A. (producer) in December this year. Its price in advance booking fluctuates around PLN 2 300 – 2 500. Next coins of this series are going to appear on the market the following year: “Elblag” (April 2009) and “Wroclaw” (October 2009). In 2010 “Stare Hradisko” and “Szombathely” coins will be put on sale.
Silver dollars
For less well-to-do investors the issuer prepared, as a part of this series, silver oxidized collector’s coins in the amount of 10 thousand items, each one having a nominal value of 1 dollar and with a weight of 28.28 grams (silver Ag 925 and amber, diameter 38.61 mm). Silver coins “Kaliningrad” and “Gdansk” are available on Internet numismatic auctions for the price of PLN 450 – 490 (the first one) and from PLN 199 up (the second one).
A popularization of knowledge about the amber route
Additional advantage for amber trade is the information accompanying the issue and sale of the series of coins with amber, popularizing a history of the amber route. In promotional materials we can read that “at first amber constituted an object of a trade exchange, where Celts acted as middlemen. First organized trips for amber took place in the 5
th century BC. However, they did not reach the Baltic coasts, making transactions with Celtic middlemen. Only after a conquest of the territories around the middle part of the Danube, since the 1st century of the new era the Romans developed amber trade for a large scale, organizing with the use of a few routes trips from Pannonia to the Baltic Sea, especially to Sambia. The greatest development of this trade took place in the 3rd century, and since the middle of the 4
th century the exchange was gradually ceasing. The major centre of amber trade in the Roman Empire was Aquileia. The route is marked by the archeological finds of Roman coins, articles made of bronze, Roman ceramics (terra sigillata) and treasures of amber”.
