If you are a collector or are engaged in the study of old and modern coins as objects of historical significance, this is the blog for you. In the search for new peculiarities of Istria, we came across the smallest gold coin in the world called Hum. Hum, known as the smallest city in the world, was found as a motif on the smallest gold coin in the world issued by the Croatian National Bank. As a last memory before joining the large family of eurozone members, the Croatian Mint minted the smallest commemorative coin in the world and proudly marked the transition to the new currency.
The gold coin has a diameter of 1.99 millimeters and weighs only 0.05 grams. It comes in a numismatic set with a one-ounce gold coin called Zvjezdarnica Višnjan. The set was issued in 199 pieces and can be found here.
In order to mint the world’s smallest coin, all steps in the manufacturing process had to be adjusted. Everything starts with the development of the display on the coin itself, so that the mint, in cooperation with the artist, sculptor Ana Divković, created a display that is detailed enough to depict the entire city at 1.99 mm, yet technically feasible. Special processing of steel resulted in the smallest tool for the smallest coin in the world. Finally, the coins are produced one by one, where each one, after minting, is subjected to quality control of the impression on a microscope.
Ana the sculptor says that on one side, she dared to place the entire town in order to emphasise its size, while on the other side, she placed the motif of the entrance door handle to the town of Hum itself in the shape of the head of the autochthonous Istrian boškarin cattle.
The exceptional skill of our blacksmiths shows that Croatia is truly a small country full of capable people and no other city or thing but our Hum could be presented on the smallest coin in the world.
Photo source: www.plemenit.hr, www.hnb.hr
