3140)"Machu Picchu", Peru: "Riqueza y Orgullo del Peru” ("Wealth and Pride of Peru Coin Series"): A 1 (One) Sol Coin showcases the Ruins of Machu Picchu: Date/Year of Coin issue: 07/2011:
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The Central Reserve Bank of Peru in 2010 unveiled the design for one-sol coins, in its numismatic series called “Riqueza y Orgullo del Peru” ("Wealth and Pride of Peru").
The "Wealth and Pride of Peru" series first began in 2010 with the issue of the Golden Tumi as its motif.
Successive coins were issued such as the Karajia Sarcophagi, the Estela de Raimondi, the Chullupas of Sillustani, Machu Picchu, the Monastery of Santa Catalina, the Saywite Stone, the Great Pajaten, the Real Felipe Fortress, and the Temple of Vilcashuamán, and the Ruins/Monolith of Kuntur Wasi.
The Coins launched in this one-sol series included 26 unique designs reflecting Peru’s history and traditions.
Peru’s Central Bank has issued a new sol coin featuring the "Machu Pichu" in July 2011 in its Wealth and Pride series of collectors’ coins.
Machu Pichu:
"On 24.07.1911, the ruins of Machu Picchu were discovered. The remains of an Inca city, between the Andean masses in the South of the country, opened and showed the vestiges of an ancient civilisation, which began to be built in the middle of the XV century approximately, during the times of Emperor Pachacuti, the first ruler of Tauhantinsuyu.
It is believed that for a hundred years it was the resting place of the emperor and also the political, religious and administrative centre.
There is evidence that, it was possibly a place for initiation of Inca rituals and a sacred place.
The ancient Inca city remains the object of much research and discovery:
One discovery was made in 2010, when what looked like a doorway to a wall was discovered about 20 metres from the main entrance of Machu Picchu, which could be the tomb of Emperor Pachacuti himself - the founder of the city.
In 2012, permission was granted to do further research on the ruins. With the help of geo radars, the sub-soil was found to be full of cavities that could be the tombs as well as a large rectangular chamber. These clues reinforce the theory/belief that the remains of Emperor Pachacuti rest here, and with him, numerous treasures."
Adds the UNESCO Book, titled "Treasures of the World" in my personal library:
"Machu Picchu stands 2430 metres above ea-level in an extra-ordinarily beautiful setting in the middle of a tropical mountain forest. The city was probably the greatest urban achievement of the Inca Empire at its height. Its giant walls, terraces and ramps seem as if they have been cut naturally in the continuous rock escarpments. The natural setting on the Eastern slopes of the Andes encompasses the upper Amazon basin with its rich diversity of flora and fauna.
Set on the vertiginous site of a granite mountain, sculpted by erosion and dominating a meander in the Rio Urubamba, Machu Picchu is a world-renowned archaeological site. Its construction, set out according to a very rigorous plan, it comprises one of the most spectacular creations of the Incas, the largest civilisation in the Americas before the arrival of the Europeans.
It appears to date from the period of the two great Inca Rulers - Pachacutec Inca Yupanqui (1438-71) and Tupac Inca Yupanqui (1472-93).
The function of this city, which is over 100 km from the Inca capital Cuzco, is still unknown. Without making a judgment as to their purpose, several individual quarters may be noted in the ruins - a "farmer's quarter" near the colossal terraces whose slopes were cultivated and transformed into hanging gardens; an "industrial quarter", a "royal quarter" and a "religious quarter".
The Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu covers 325 sq. km. in some of the scenically most attractive mountainous territory of the Peruvian Andes.
It was the last stronghold of the Incas, is of superb architectural and archaeological importance and remains one of the most important cultural sites in Latin America. The site's stonework is a first-class example of the use of a natural raw material to create outstanding architecture totally appropriate to the surroundings World's greatest long-term examples of a productive man-land relationship.
The people living around Machu Picchu continue a way of life closely resembling that of their Inca ancestors, being based on potatoes, maize and llamas. Machu Picchu also provides a secure habitat for several endangered species, notably the spectacled bear."
"Machu Picchu bears, with Cuzco and the other archaeological sites of the valley of the Urubamba (Ollantautaybo, Runcuracay, Sayacmarca, Phuyupamarca, Huinal Huayna, Intipucu and others), a unique testimony to the Inca civilisation. Machu Picchu in particular is an outstanding example of man's interaction with his natural environment."
Machu Picchu - explained:
The construction of Machu Picchu dates from the last third of the 15th Century, from Inca times, the last phase of the ancestral Peruvian civilisation whose beginnings date back to about 6,000 years.
It is presumed that its primary function was to serve as an administrative centre for the production of cultivated terraced farming or platforms built on the Andean slopes for agriculture and for ceremonious rituals for propitiating the Gods on whose approval the people's sustenance was believed to depend - the "God of Water" and the Land Goddess "Pachamama."
Along with other agricultural complexes that abound in the Vicabamba area, where Machu Picchu is located, it is believed to have been built as part of a vast state project aimed at extending the agricultural frontier into areas of the Amazonian Andes near Cuzco.
This is so, because in Peru, the potential of land suitable for cultivation is meagre both on the Cordilleranos Andes and the coastal Andes. As such, the soils were deficient since early Andean civilisations and with the growth in population depending on agriculture as a means of sustenance became a major worry. Also, continuous cultivation on available lands resulted in ecological imbalances, as such, multiple strategies were adopted to overcome the food problem and one of them was the option to expand the agricultural frontier.
Coupled with these pressing problems was the phenomenon of tornados and hurricanes - "El Nino", which recurrently brought about drought or storm floods and other calamities of nature which affected the production of edible food produce.
To avert natural disasters, it was believed that the Gods should be propitiated by resorting to magical-religious ceremonies. The foremost among the Gods was the "God of Andean Water", the divine beingof highest rank having his abode in the highest peaks and the Earth Goddess - "Pachamama" to bring about rain and good food crops.
Interestingly, these divine beings are still venerated in several parts of the Peruvian Andes.
Commemorative Coin:
Inscribed towards the centre left periphery is the inscription - "MACHU PICCHU. S.XV.dC"."
Vertically engraved is seen "1 NEUVO SOL".
On the Obverse of all Peruvian Coins, the National Coat of Arms, the inscription "Banco Central de Reserva del Peru" is seen on the upper Periphery and the Year of Minting is placed on the lower periphery - "2011".
The specifications of the One Sol Coin are:
Country of issue: Republic of Peru; Coin Series Theme: "Riqueza y Orgullo del Peru” ("Wealth and Pride of Peru Coin Series"); Coin Theme: "Shipibo Conibo Pottery"; Coin Quality: Circulation Commemorative Coin; Date/Year of Coin issue: 2011; Denomination of Coin: 1 (One Nuevo Sol); Metal Composition: Nickel-brass; Weight: 7.32 grams; Diameter/Size: 25.5 mm; Thickness: 1.9 mm; Minted By: National Mint House; Mint Mark: LIMA; Mintage: 10.00 Million pieces; Shape: Round; Technique: Milled; Orientation/Coin alignment: ↑↓; Edge: Reeded.
Links to Posts on Peru:
Links to Posts on Argentina:
Links to Posts on Guyana:
1) A $500 (Five Hundred Dollars) Banknote issued by the Bank of Guyana
Links to Posts on Turks and Caicos Islands:
Links to Posts on Curacao on this Blog:
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23) "Caribbean Sea-Horse", Barbados: $10 (Ten Dollars) 1.0 Oz. Gold Bullion Coins & $1 (One Dollar) 1.0 Oz. Silver Bullion Coins minted by the Scottsdale Mint; Year of issue: 2020
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Links to some other interesting posts from South American countries & Mexico:
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Links to Posts on Curacao on this Blog:
Rajan Trikha has commented:
ReplyDelete"Very detailed and informative post."
Thank you Trikha sahab
DeleteSantosh Khanna has commented:
ReplyDelete"A VERY informative and interesting post. Thanks for sharing."
Thank you so much, Khanna sahab.
Delete