2063) "Hourglass", Tuvalu Island: A $2 Silver Coin minted by the Perth Mint, Australia on behalf of Tuvalu Island: Date/Year of Coin issue: 2021:
A stylised coloured representation of the $2 (Two Dollars - TVD) Silver Coin showing the Hourglass in the centre
About an "Hourglass":
An Hourglass (or sandglass, sand timer, sand clock or egg timer) is a device used to measure the passage of time.
It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated flow of a substance (historically sand) from the upper bulb to the lower one.
Typically the upper and lower bulbs are symmetric so that the hourglass will measure the same duration regardless of orientation. The specific duration of time a given hourglass measures is determined by factors including the quantity and coarseness of the particulate matter, the bulb size, and the neck width.
Depictions of an hourglass as a symbol of the passage of time are found in art, especially on tombstones or other monuments, from antiquity to the present day. The form of a winged hourglass has been used as a literal depiction of the well-known idiom "time flies".
Documented records indicate that it was in use in the eighth century. The hourglass used the flow of fine sand from one bulb to another in order to measure intervals of time with accuracy.
As well as applications in religious and civic life, the hourglass was also useful to mariners. Despite being superseded by mechanical clocks, the hourglass remains relevant in modern culture symbolising the passage of time and the transience of all things.
Despite being superseded by mechanical clocks, the hourglass remains relevant in modern culture symbolising the passage of time and the transience of all things.
While some early hourglasses used silica sand as the granular material to measure time, many did not use sand at all.
The material used in most bulbs was "powdered marble, tin/lead oxides, pulverized, burnt eggshell". Over time, different textures of granule matter were tested to see which gave the most constant flow within the bulbs. It was later discovered that for the perfect flow to be achieved the ratio of granule bead to the width of the bulb neck needed to be 1/12 or more but not greater than 1/2 the neck of the bulb.
Practical uses:
Hourglasses were an early dependable and accurate measure of time. The rate of flow of the sand is independent of the depth in the upper reservoir, and the instrument will not freeze in cold weather. From the 15th century onwards, hourglasses were being used in a range of applications at sea, in the church, in industry, and in cookery.
During the voyage of Ferdinand Magellan around the globe, 18 hourglasses from Barcelona were in the ship's inventory, after the trip had been authorized by King Charles I of Spain.
It was the job of a ship's page to turn the hourglasses and thus provide the times for the ship's log. Noon was the reference time for navigation, which did not depend on the glass, as the sun would be at its zenith.
A number of sandglasses could be fixed in a common frame, each with a different operating time, e.g. as in a four-way Italian sandglass from the 17th century, now placed in the collections of the Science Museum, in South Kensington, London, which could measure intervals of quarter, half, three-quarters, and one hour (and which were also used in churches, for priests and ministers to measure lengths of sermons).
The former Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich in London used an hourglass on its coat of arms, symbolising Greenwich's role as the origin of GMT. The district's successor, the Royal Borough of Greenwich, uses two hourglasses on its Coat of Arms.
It was used on pirate flags, to strike fear into the hearts of the pirates' victims. In England, hourglasses were sometimes placed in coffins, and they have graced gravestones for centuries.
Modern practical uses:
While they are no longer widely used for keeping time, some institutions do maintain them.
Both houses of the Australian Parliament use three hourglasses to time certain procedures, such as divisions.
The sandglass is still widely used as the kitchen egg timer for cooking eggs, a three-minute timer is typical, hence the name "egg timer" for three-minute hourglasses.
Sand timers are also sometimes used in games such as Pictionary and Boggle to implement a time constraint on rounds of play.
Symbolism:
The hourglass concretely represents the present as being between the past and the future, and this has made it an enduring symbol of time itself.
The hourglass, sometimes with the addition of metaphorical wings, is often depicted as a symbol that human existence is fleeting, and that the "sands of time" will run out for every human life.
The hourglass was also used in alchemy as a symbol for hour.
The Coin:
On the Reverse of the $2 (Two Dollars - TVD) Silver Coin is portrayed an astrological design incorporating sinuous, organic lines characteristic of art nouveau.
Arranged around a central insert of a miniature hourglass, it includes stylised representations of the sun and moon with facial features, and phases of the moon – waxing, full and waning – embodying the passing of time. The design also features The Perth Mint’s ‘P’ mintmark.
The specifications of this Coin are:
Country of issue: Tuvalu Island; Year: 2021; Coin Theme: "Hourglass"; Denomination/Face Value: 2 Tuvalu Dollars (TVD); Metal Composition: .9999 Fineness Silver (Ag); Weight: 2.0 Oz or 62.213 grams; Diameter/Size: 45.6 mm; Thickness: 6.50 mm; Coin Quality: Antique Finish; Mint: Perth Mint, Australia; On behalf of: Tuvalu Island; Mintage: 2,500 pieces; Designer(s): (Reverse) Jennifer McKenna, (Obverse) Ian Rank-Broadley; Shape: Round; Presentation Case/Box: Coin is housed in a contemporary latex case that comes in an illustrated shipper; Certificate of Authenticity (COA): Yes, numbered; Modifications: Ultra High Relief (UHR), Gilding, inset hourglass centre.
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