Like many modern crowdfunding campaigns, The World offered rewards, including gold coins for the largest donor.

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"The Paralympic reputation is incredibly strong around the world and the production of these coins would send a strong message - it is more than a commemorative coin, it shows how British society values diversity, " she said.

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World investment (the sum of implied net investment plus coins and medals) dipped marginally year-on-year to 282.2 million ounces, or 8, 776 metric tons.

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For decades, large quantities of gold coins have been issued by sovereign governments around the world.

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Sikeliote craftsmen became the masters of the ancient world at carving microscopically detailed dies from which gold and silver coins were stamped in a great variety of intricate images not just of gods and humans, but of flying four-horse chariots and great eagles devouring their prey.

WSJ: Sicily's Proud Past | Sicily: Art and Invention Between Greece and Rome | J. Paul Getty Museum By David Littlejohn

Geocoinfests, which take place all over the world, attract both geocoin collectors and geocachers interested in the sisterhood of the travelling coins, so to speak.

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