2423) "A Trip To The Moon" ("Le Voyage dans Lune" - in French), Republic of Palau: A 1902 French Adventure Short Film: A $10 (Ten Dollars) Silver Coin minted by B.H. Mayer's Kunstprageanstalt GmbH at their facilities in Munich: Coin coordinated by Power Coin on behalf of Palau: Date of Coin issue: 2022:
"A TRIP TO THE MOON" - 120th ANNIVERSARY (1902-2022):
The Header/Banner shows a scene from the film - "A Trip to the Moon", in which the enthusiastic cast is shown standing before the cannon which has shot the capsule on its way to the moon. The logo of Power Coin is at bottom left. At right is the original poster titled "LE VOYAGE Dans LUNE" ("A Trip To The Moon").
The Treasury of Palau has issued new silver coins whose theme is one of the best known early motion pictures which featured the possibility of space travel — at a time when even air flight had not yet been invented.
These coins have been commissioned by Power Coin (international distributors out of Ciampino, Italy), and were minted by B.H. Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt at their facilities in Munich.
Produced 120 years ago by the Star Film Company in 1902 with a budget of 10,000 French francs (the equivalent of $2,000), "Le Voyage dans la Lune" (or "A Trip to the Moon") was the work of French director Georges Méliès. The film with a storyline of space travel is often described as the first-ever motion picture with a science fiction theme.
In one of the film’s more memorable scenes, the rocket is launched and lands right in the middle of the right eye of the man on the Moon, shown as a grimacing face.
In fact, the moment in which the capsule lands in the Moon’s eye remains one of the most iconic and frequently referenced images in the history of cinema.
Inspired by a wide variety of sources, including Jules Verne's 1865 novel "From the Earth to the Moon" and its 1870 sequel "Around the Moon", the film follows a group of astronomers who travel to the Moon in a cannon-propelled capsule, explore the Moon's surface, escape from an underground group of "Selenites" ("lunar inhabitants"), and return to Earth with a captive Selenite.
During the production of the film with a running time of about 14 minutes, Méliès who himself portrayed the astronomer and main character, Professor Barbenfouillis, also edited the film.
He cleverly used special editing effects and other techniques that were revolutionary at the time, such as showing a character vanishing in a puff of smoke or superimposing an actor’s face onto the moon’s surface.
Its ensemble cast of French theatrical performers is led by Méliès himself as main character Professor Barbenfouillis. The film features the overtly theatrical style for which Méliès became famous.
Critics have commented upon the film's extensive use of pataphysical and anti-imperialist satire, as well as, on its wide influence on later film-makers and its artistic significance within the French theatrical féerie tradition.
Though the film disappeared into obscurity after Méliès's retirement from the film industry, it was rediscovered around 1930, when Méliès's importance to the history of cinema was beginning to be recognised by film devotees. An original hand-coloured print was discovered in 1993 and restored in 2011.
An instant success:
A "Trip to the Moon" was an internationally popular success on its release, and was extensively pirated by other studios, especially in the United States.
Its unusual length, lavish production values, innovative special effects, and emphasis on storytelling were markedly influential on other film-makers and ultimately on the development of narrative film as a whole.
It was ranked 84th among the 100 greatest films of the 20th century by "The Village Voice".
The film remains Méliès' best known, and the moment in which the capsule lands in the Moon's eye remains one of the most iconic and frequently referenced images in the history of cinema.
It is widely regarded as the earliest example of the science fiction film genre and, more generally, as one of the most influential films in cinema history.
The Silver Coin:
This 2 Oz Silver coin celebrates the 120th Anniversary of the first sci-fi movie “A Trip to the Moon” by Georges Méliès.
The Reverse of the $10 (Ten Dollars) Silver Coin replicates the well-known image of Professor Barbenfouillis’s colourised rocket the moment it lands in the eye of the man on the moon, inspired by the official poster of the movie “A Trip to the Moon”.
In the image, the Moon is hit in the eye by a capsule shot from a giant cannon.
The high-relief enhances both the moon’s surface, as well as, the colourised rocket itself which also includes the logo of Power Coin seen on the back-end of the rocket with the year "2022" shown in stylised numerals on the left, and also below the rocket.
The Obverse of the $10 (Ten Dollars) Silver Coin includes an artistic rendition of the crest of the Island of Palau centred with the denomination of "10 $" placed below the shield and the text "REPUBLIC OF PALAU" shown along the upper periphery. There are three stars placed on either side of the text.
The specification of the $10 (Ten Dollars) Silver Coin are:
Country of issue: Republic of Palau; Date/Year: 2022; Coin Theme: "A Trip to The Moon" ("Le Voyage dans Lune"); Denomination/Face Value: $10 (Ten Dollars); Metal Composition: .999 Fineness Silver (Ag); Weight: 2.00 Oz or 62.2 grams; Diameter/Size: 50.00 mm; Coin Quality: Antique Finish (AF), and a partial brilliant red colouration and features a unique design, Oxidised; Minted By: B.H.Mayer's Kunstprageanstalt GmbH at their facilities in Munich; Coin Coordinated By: Power Coin; On Behalf of: The Republic of Palau; Mintage: 500 pieces; Modifications: The coin was minted with Smartminting technology and has an Ultra High Relief (UHF); Certificate of Authenticity (COA): Yes; Presentation Case/Box: Yes.
Packaging: Each coin is encapsulated and presented in a custom black-framed case with a transparent lid for ease of display and is accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (COA).
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