2022 Meteorite Impacts Release: Aba Panu
Wanna know something cool we learned?
There’s a difference between meteors, meteoroids, and meteorites–that’s not the cool part, but it is good to know–and it’s their current stage of life. A meteoroid is a heap of rock and metal that orbits the Sun. When its path coincides with the Earth’s atmosphere, the gravitational pull will sweep it up and hurl it down toward the surface. In its great fall, the meteoroid becomes a meteor–better known as a shooting star–as it collides with the atmosphere and catches fire for a split second before it burns up and blows away. Not always, though. Sometimes, pieces of meteors make it to the ground somewhat intact. These, we call meteorites: the remains of the heavens fallen to Earth.
A very special coin series released its first issue in 2004–a collection dedicated to preserving pieces of recovered meteorites within precious metals finely minted with each meteorite’s crash site represented! Nestled in a bed of two ounces of .925 fine silver, a fragment of the 2000 NWA 267, found in North West Africa and weighing in at 73.9 kg, was tucked nicely against a silver background: a replication of its terrestrial crash site.
Sequential years saw more meteorites discovered and inserted into beautiful coins; the series is on its 18th edition this year. Past issues have included the striking 2014 Moldavite 1 oz silver coin, designed as the 10th anniversary of the collection; the riveting 2017 Chergach 0.5 oz silver coin, the first and only coin of the series featuring gold gilding; and the innovative 2021 La Ciénega 1 oz silver coin, which incorporated the meteorite insert into the coin through it’s edge.
This extensive collection is releasing its next addition soon, so we thought we’d give you a head start on the masses. The 2022 Meteorite Impacts coin will contain bits and pieces of…imagine a drumroll here…the Aba Panu meteorite! Fallen in 2018 and discovered the same year, the Aba Panu meteorite was named for the closest little town to the wreckage in Nigeria. So far, NASA’s prediction of its weight is up to 160 kg! It’s not often that meteorites of this size hit the Earth’s surface–thankfully. With a limited mintage of only 1,500 pieces, getting to own a piece of the Aba Panu meteorite will happen even less often. So heads up, stargazers and astro enthusiasts! The Meteorite Impacts collection is sending something your way very soon.
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