Barbados issues ‘Blue Marble’ $5 coin with meteorite

By Jeff Starck , Coin World

Published: Jan 23, 2022, 10 AM

The Barbados 2022 Blue Marble silver $5 coin is minted in the shape of Earth and shows the various landmasses and water features, as well as an embedded meteorite piece.

Images courtesy of Talisman Coins.

Generally a coin has three sides, including the edge, but a new coin from Barbados has only one side.

The 2022 3-ounce .999 fine silver $5 coin is minted in the shape of a sphere, specifically Earth.

The Endangered Earth Blue Marble coin has surfaces highlighted in hand-applied, translucent blue enamel and rose gold plating embedded with a genuine chondrite meteorite to simulate meteor impact.

A coin with real impact

This coin depicts our planet being hit by a large, rocky asteroid, with impact in the Pacific Ocean.

The meteorite embedded in the coin is a genuine chondrite meteorite, properly scaled to be of an Earth-destroying size. Although this is a doomsday scenario popularized in many science fiction books and movies, the planet’s destruction as a result of an asteroid impact is actually possible.

Scientists estimate that an asteroid measuring just 60 miles (96 kilometers) in diameter would be sufficient to extinguish all life on our planet.

The Earth’s landmasses are faithfully reproduced and plated in pure rose gold, while the seas are surfaced in translucent blue enamel.

The bottom of the coin shows the coat of arms of Barbados surrounded by the issuer, date and denomination. The legend 3 OZ AG 999 specifies the weight and purity.