Niue Island 2 Dollar Silver Coin 2013 Moscow Kremlin Faberge Egg
Series: Imperial Fabergé Eggs
Obverse: At the bottom – open „Spring Flowers Egg” (1899-1903) with a miniature basket and a bouquet of anemones. Above the basket – an effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Below – and inscription: ELIZABETH II and the mint mark (m/w). Around – a decorative, neorococo ornament. Along the rim – inscriptions: NIUE ISLAND (the issuer), 2 dollars (the face value), 2013 (the year of issue).
Reverse: In the central part – a stylized image of the Cathedral of Dormition in the Moscow Kremlin. At the top, along the rim – an inscription: Moscow Kremlin Egg (the name of the coin in English). Around – decorative, neo-rococo ornaments. In the upper and lower part of the coin – SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS.
Design: Robert Kotowicz
• decorated with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS
• its uniqueness is guarantedd by the low mintage – up to 7,000 pcs
• offered in an exclusive presentation case
• legal tender in New Zealand
Year: 2013.
Denomination: 2 NZD.
Silver Fineness: Ag 925/1000.
Weight: 56,56 g.
Dimensions: 41,60 x 55,60 mm.
Finish: Proof.
Producer: Mint of Poland (Mennica Polska).
Series: Imperial Fabergé Eggs
The coin is issued in the series dedicated to theexceptional Imperial Fabergé Eggs. These jewellery masterpiecessymbolize extravagance and luxury. Designed by Peter Carl Fabergé and his assistants for the Russian Tsars, Alexander II and Nicholas II, the eggs were made of gold and silver decorated with enamel and gemstones.Until now in the series the following coins have been issued: the “Coronation Egg”, the “Lily of the Valley Egg”, the “Clover Leaf Egg”, “The Duchess of Marlborough Egg", the “Pansy Egg”, the “Bay Tree Egg” and the “100th Anniversary of Patriotic War 1812”.
Moscow Kremlin Egg 1906 Faberge Alexander Palace Egg 1908 Faberge
Moscow Kremlin Faberge Egg
The Moscow Kremlin Egg (or the Uspenski Cathedral Egg) is a jewelled Easter egg made under the supervision of the Russian jeweller Peter Carl Fabergé in 1906 for Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. It was presented by Nicolas II as an Easter gift to his wife, the Czarina Alexandra Fyodorovna. It is currently held in the Kremlin Armoury Museum in Moscow, and it is one of the few Fabergé eggs that have never left Russia.
Design
The Moscow Kremlin Egg is by far the largest of the Fabergé eggs and was inspired by the architecture of the Cathedral of the Assumption (Uspenski) in Moscow. This cathedral was where all the Tsars of Russia were crowned, including Nicholas II himself.
The cathedral dome (in white opalescent vitreous enamel) is removable, and the remarkably crafted interior of the church can be seen. Its carpets, tiny enameled icons and high altar on an oval glass plate are made visible through four triple windows, surmounted by a gold cupola and flanked by two square, two circular stylized turrets, the former based on the Spassky Tower. The tower bears the coat of arms of the Russian Empire and the coat of arms of Moscow, inset with 'chiming clocks'. It stands on a crenellated gold base and octagonal white onyx plinth designed as a pyramid, and built of smaller pyramids.
Surprise
The surprise in this egg is music. The base of the egg contains a gold music box that plays two cherubim chants, traditional Easter hymns can be played when a clockwork mechanism is wound up by a gold key. One of the hymns is the "Izhe Khveruviny", a favorite hymn of Nicholas II.
History
The egg commemorates the return to Moscow of the royal couple Nicholas II and Alexandra Fyodorovna in 1903. They had tended to avoid the historical capital due to its ill-omened association with a riot during Nicholas’s coronation, where hundreds of Moscovites were crushed to death. The egg itself was supposed to be presented in 1904 as engraved at the foot in white enamel on a round gold plate is the date. But the delivery was delayed because of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). This was followed by the assassination in the Kremlin of Nicholas' favorite uncle and brother-in-law, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. So instead the egg was only presented for Easter, 1906. The egg was kept in the Alexandra Fyodorovna’s Mauve Sitting Room in the Alexander Palace.
