Finally, Provident Metals has released the second coin in their Privateer series. This one is called Siren. Thoughts, opinions, yes or no? Source: Provident Metals
I like the subject matter of the reverse.. But the positioning between the ship & the Siren isn't right. Never been a fan of the obverse. And to call these "ultra high relief" is shameful. Certainly appreciate where they're trying to go with these, but they're falling short, IMO. Obviously not for everybody.. :lol: Has the price-point going for it, though. And exposes something different to collectors/stackers out there.
Yeah, I agree with pretty much everything. My opinion is that, yes, the obverse looks a bit odd. It did have to do with the Siren, the ship, and some of the water. When I first looked at it I wasn't a fan, but honestly, the more I look at it, the better it gets. Haha I think it's growing on me. I do really enjoy this coins theme though. I love Greek mythology and the Siren idea was always so cool to me. So I give them points for that. But finally, yeah, there is no relief in this, let alone a 'high' relief. Haha they added a rim around the coin but didn't bring the inside up at all! It's still pretty much flat! I think it's a great follow up though. The artwork is of the first coin. The first came out with a huge buzz and success and would sure be hard to follow, but I think this one does it some justice.
"The second release in Elemetal's Privateer Series, the 2 oz Silver Siren Ultra High Relief Round is available for as low as $4.69 per ounce over spot! Though your order may ship sooner, we expect to start shipping orders that include the Elemetal 2 oz Silver Siren Ultra High Relief Round August 24, 2015. Buy the Elemetal 2 oz Silver Siren Ultra High Relief Round the second release in Elemetal's Privateer Series from Provident Metals today. Struck with two ounces of .999 fine silver at the Elemetal Mint (ISO9001 certified), each intricately designed round is eligible for a self-directed precious metals IRA. The reverse of each 2 oz Ultra High Relief Round features a Siren, a mythological creature that is half woman and endowed with beauty and an enchanting voice. The Siren gazes upon a drifting pirate ship as waves roar throughout the sea, crashing into the rocks beneath her. Many tales of the Siren exist in Greek mythology, including Homer's "Odyssey." While her appearance was striking to sailors, it was the Siren's alluring and melodious songs that were irresistibly sweet, causing boats to crash on the rocks the Sirens were perched upon. If the seafarers were unable to resist their euphoric tones, a harrowing outcome awaited oftentimes a gruesome death. Some stories suggest that a Siren was capable of shedding her lower, mermaid-like body to look fully human and become more tempting to mariners. The earliest depictions of the Siren showed her as part woman, part bird. Depictions of the Siren after the 16th Century, however, show the upper body of a beautiful woman with the tail of a fish. The common obverse of the Privateer Series depicts a human skull above a ship's wooden wheel. A tattered rope winds through the wheel completing the design that is encircled by inscriptions of "NO PREY NO PAY" and "2 oz. FINE SILVER .999." Each 2 oz Siren Ultra High Relief Silver Round is Privately Minted at the Elemetal Mint. The Elemetal Mint is a collaborative effort between Provident Metals, OPM, and NTR Metals to manufacture high-quality, investment grade Bullion at the lowest possible prices. It is the goal of the Elemetal Mint to make Gold, Silver, and Copper bullion accessible to all investors and collectors alike. While being able to produce precious metal as demand requires, Elemetal also prides itself on shipping its packages fast and free. A hefty and attractive addition to your silver bullion holdings, Elemetal 2 oz Siren Ultra High Relief Rounds will ship in non-plasticized coin flips. A quantity of 10 will ship in a Coinsafe tube for optimal protection. Protect your investment with the 2 oz Ultra High Relief Round Plastic Capsule. Let the enchantment of the Siren entice you to increase the value and beauty of your retirement portfolio with this Elemetal 2 oz Siren Ultra High Relief Silver Round from Provident Metals. Pick up the second release in the popular Privateer Series through our safe and convenient online ordering system, or by calling 800-313-3315 today."
These appear to be drawings (or highly edited photos) not actual photos of the round so it's really difficult to tell how high the relief actually is. What Provident really should do is create a video like they did for the relatively new high relief Grand Canyon round they are selling (actually, I just checked and production and sales have already ended on their proof like Grand Canyon round). That would give the best way for customers to determine the aesthetic quality of the round. In fact, after viewing Provident's video on the stellar high relief Grand Canyon round is precisely when I knew I would purchase a few of them. I received my order just last week and I hope to get around to posting pictures this week. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HXLlR1YZ40[/youtube] If I were going just by the pictures above of the Siren round, I would decide not to buy that round. The pictures of the first Privateer round give the impression to me (I did not purchase the first Privateer round although I think it's a neat design) that it's a considerably more appealing design than this second in the series....in spite of the fact that a mermaid is part of the design. Nonetheless, I definitely applaud the collaboration of these companies to look to produce high relief rounds...I'm a huge fan of well executed high relief designs. .
Looks to me like photos of the actual round, with some editing afterwards. But I believe it's probably a pretty accurate image. Some of these mints don't know what true "ultra high relief" really is.. More of a gimmicky buzzword from the marketing dept, really. Though I suppose when compared to the average bullion coin / round, it's all relative. Still happy to see the market pushing a little closer in this direction, regardless..
I don't think so, it's very clearly a high relief round, particularly if you have seen them in person side on. They have simply tried something different and recessed the entire image, cuts down on trial and error pre production (I imagine they didn't want to go back to the drawing board many times given the detail in the design) and allows them to produce a cheap yet quality round. Having said that, the design is a big step backwards on the first one, too busy and hard to understand the perspective. They should have made the ships in this series the focus.
This group (Provident and Elemental Mint et al) should have aligned with this coin designer to reinterpret their coin in extra high relief Cheers, Luker
I noticed that the other day and also thought it bizarre. Sirens, at least in classic art and literature, do not wear bras or bikini tops. The designers of the round seem to have swallowed the politically correct Kool-Aid with this latest round. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siren_(mythology)#/media/File:Armitage_Siren.JPG https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Ulysses_and_the_Sirens_by_H.J._Draper.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/The_Siren.jpg .
everyone is naked in classical art and literature, times change. As do definitions. Sirens were half woman half bird once upon a time. Mermaids are half woman half fish. The two got mixed up over time and now singing killer mermaids = sirens.
Yeah, I think this coin doesn't top the first but it's almost as good. I do hope it can go at least 10. It's a good series topic that hasn't been touched on and I would collect them all. Just as long as they don't decline in the design and artwork, it'll do good. I just purchased their last two rounds in their 12 Labors of Hercules series and so glad to finally complete my first 'series' type collection.
