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| Issuer | Republic of Sierra Leone |
|---|---|
| Year | 2005 |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The gold centre features a left-facing bust of Pope John Paul II wearing a zucchetto and clerical vestments, with the circular legend PONTIFEX MAXIMUS IOANNES PAULUS II arching around the upper portion of the centre and the dates 1920 - 2005 flanking the lower portion. The denomination $75 appears at the base of the gold centre. The surrounding niobium ring is decorated with a continuous frieze of figural scenes depicting the Stations of the Cross, rendered in high relief against a beaded inner border. |
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| Additional information |
Issued in 2005 — the year of John Paul II's death — this is one of countless commemorative releases from Sierra Leone that bear no meaningful connection to the issuing nation. The bimetallic gold-in-niobium format was a novelty construction popularized by Austria's annual niobium euro series beginning in 2003, and quickly adopted by numismatic licensing operations producing collector pieces through Pacific and Caribbean-adjacent jurisdictions.
The 6.22 g gold centre is the commercial core of the issue.