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 A stunning new series of silver coins minted for the Cook Islands pays tribute to famous Cathedrals throughout the world. Beautifully designed, featuring stained glass windows, the series bears the title “The Windows of Heaven”.

The obverse of the coin represents an effigy of Elizabeth II as well as the inscription of the Queen’s name. There is a full-colour window ins ert next to the portrait. The obverse also contains the legends indicating the face value of the coin and the name of the issuing country.

The reverse design features the image of the magnificent Milan Duomo Cathedral, with a plan of the outlay of the cathedral below. Being a powerful testimony to the strength and persistence of Christian belief in medieval and modern Europe, the temple has an exceptional intrinsic val ue and contains artistic masterpieces, one of them reflected in a full-colour window insert on the reverse of this silver coin. The upper part of the coin contains the legend denoting the name of the series. Below the images, there are the inscriptions of the name of the city and the year of mintage.

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•     Contains  50 grams of .925 Silver.

•     Coin is decorated with real stained glass

•     Each coin comes in a special box with a COA.

•     Strict limited mintage of only 2000 coins.

•     Obverse: Effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, “Cook Islands”, and the legal tender value of 10 Dollars

•     Reverse: A very high quality rendition of Milan Duomo Cathedral
  

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 In the series of Windows of Heaven you can find:

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  2010 Windows of Heaven – Cologne

  2011 Windows of Heaven – Notre Dame de Paris

  2011 Windows of Heaven – Sevilla

  2011 Windows of Heaven – Westminster Abbey London

  2011 Windows of History – Titanic

  2012 Windows of Heaven – Bethlehem

  2012 Windows of Heaven – Cracow St Francis

  2012 Windows of Heaven – St Isaac Cathedral

  2013 Windows of Heaven – Chartres

  2013 Windows of Heaven – Lourdes

  2013 Windows of Heaven – Milan Cathedral

  2013 Windows of History – Grand Central Terminal

  2014 Windows of Heaven – Buenos Aires

  2014 Windows of Heaven – Sacre Coeur

  2014 Windows of Heaven – Sacre Coeur

  2014 Windows of Heaven – Washington National Cathedral – Special Editon

  2014 Windows of Heaven Giants – Cologne Cathedral – Special Edition

  2015 Windows of Heaven – Zagreb Cathedral

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  History:

The Duomo di Milano, Milan’s magnificent Gothic cathedral, is one of the world’s largest churches. Its dazzling white front facade, arguably the world’s most beautiful, dominates the cathedral square.
The Duomo is literally at the center of Milan. Streets radiate from the cathedral or circle it. The cathedral occupies a site that has been the most central location in the city since its founding.

Building the Cathedral
The construction of the cathedral was commissioned by bishop Antonio da Saluzzo in 1385. He was supported by the first duke of Milan, Gian Galeazzo Visconti, who envisioned the creation of the world’s largest church. He gave access to his marble quarries, granted tax exemptions and invited architects from across Europe. Construction commenced in 1386, but it would drag on for centuries. When the cathedral was consecrated in 1418, construction of the nave had only just started. Construction would continue until 1813, and final finishes were applied as late as in 1965.

Over the years numerous master builders were involved and the initial design was continuously altered to become even more spectacular. The long construction period also led to a mash-up of a variety of styles but the final result is surprisingly homogenous, with a decidedly flamboyant Gothic design.

Milan Duomo Cathedral