On July 8, 1947, the US Army Air Force base in Roswell, New Mexico, issued a statement saying that it had recovered the wreckage of a “flying disc.”

Shortly thereafter, the USAAF claimed that the debris was really from a weather balloon, igniting the most controversial and best-known incident in the history of “UFOs.”

In the decades since, an entire industry has sprung up and grown ever larger, with tens of thousands annually visiting the town where it all began, Roswell, New Mexico.

Two new 2022 coins promote this story and capitalize on the 75th anniversary of the event — whatever it was.

The incident began on July 5, a Saturday, when a rancher, Mac Brazel, near Corona, New Mexico, discovered some unusual debris in a remote location on his property. On July 7, he brought the debris to the sheriff in Roswell.

The sheriff called Roswell Army Air Field, which assigned the matter to Maj. Jesse Marcel. Brazel took Marcel back to the debris site, where the two gathered up even more debris.

The next day, Roswell Army Air Field public information officer 1st Lieutenant Walter Haut issued a press release stating that personnel from the field’s 509th Operations Group had recovered a “flying disc,” which had crash-landed near Roswell.

In a signed affidavit, released only after his death in 2005, Lt. Haut said that he was taken to a base hangar by a superior officer, where he saw an egg-shaped craft about 15 feet long. He said that there he also observed several small bodies, about 4 feet tall with large heads. Haut was convinced that the bodies were aliens and had come from a crashed spacecraft.

Meanwhile, the debris itself was whisked away the same day to the Fort Worth Army Air Field, from whence it has never resurfaced, leading to a plethora of conspiracy theories that persist to this day.

Skeptics, however, dismiss the many alien-based theories; an established theory is that the debris was from a balloon that was part of Project Mogul, a highly classified program used to test the atmosphere for evidence of Soviet atomic bomb tests.

Niue celebrates the anniversary with a 2022 Proof 1-ounce .999 fine silver dollar and Proof 1-ounce .9999 fine gold $100 coin, each with the same reverse design.

In the center, a flying saucer is seen impacting the inhospitable, rocky terrain of remote New Mexico in a fiery crash. Above, a starry sky indicates the origins of the bizarre craft, while in the foreground, a gray alien gazes out at the viewer.

Its long-drawn face is topped by the oversized cranium for which the “Grays” are known. The colors of the cosmos are hauntingly reflected in the alien’s huge black eyes, its hypnotic and menacing gaze contrasting with the cool silver tones of its skin.

Each coin comes encapsulated and packaged within a black clamshell presentation case, lined with black velvet.

The full-color outer box and certificate both represent the pinnacle of 1940s post-war or mid-century graphic design.

Both coins measure 38.6 millimeters in diameter and weigh 31.109 grams.

The silver coin has a mintage limit of 750 pieces and is sold out in pre-release.

The gold coin’s mintage is 75 pieces.

Pricing was unavailable at press time and is like to be volatile, as the secondary market is expected to advance quickly, at least for the silver coin.

For current pricing, visit the distributor website, www.talismancoins.com.

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