The Matterhorn is one of the world’s most famous mountains, its almost perfectly pyramidal peak defining the very idea of an alpine summit in many imaginations. It’s also the subject of a beautiful new commemorative coin issued from the Cook Islands in New Zealand, the 2022 1/2 Gram Cook Islands Gold Matterhorn Coin, available now from JM Bullion. Limited mintage of 5,000 pieces! Contains 1/2 gram of. Obverse features iconic artwork of the Matterhorn. Reverse features a profile portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. There are few mountains anywhere more storied in the annals of modern alpine adventure than the Matterhorn, on the border of the Swiss and Italian Alps and of the most visually distinctive summits in any mountain range. The first successful attempt to scale it in 1865 led to the tragic loss of four people from the party of Edward Whymper who managed the feat in competition with a more fortunate party of Italian climbers who turned back just shy of the summit. Despite its four sheer faces having since claimed the lives of over 500 climbers, it remains a magnet for explorers from around the world to this day. The 2022 Cook Islands Gold Matterhorn Coin is part of a limited mintage of only 5,000 pieces and makes a handsome collectible for investors and collectors. The coin’s obverse features the iconic profile of the Matterhorn, specifically capturing the two faces that hosted competing parties of mountaineers in the pivotal ascent of 1865. It carries the inscription “MATTERHORN” and a depiction of an ice ax alongside the inscription “4,478 m, ” denoting the peak’s intimidating scale of over fourteen thousand feet in height. The coin’s reverse shows a profile portrait of Queen Elizabeth II customarily seen on circulation coins in many Commonwealth countries, along with the inscriptions “Elizabeth II, ” “5 Dollars, ” “Cook Islands” and 2022.
