The German government has decided to mint a €5 collectors’ coin “Polar climate zone” with a violet polymer ring, scheduled to be issued in September 2021. This coin marks the end of the five-part series “Climate zones of the Earth”, which began in 2017 and has been very popular with collectors.

Natalie Tekampe, an artist from the town of Egenhofen, Germany, designed the picture side of the coin. The reverse side design, which features on all of the coins in this series, was created by artist Stefanie Radtke from Leipzig.

The picture side shows the polar space from an unusual submarine perspective. The imaginative composition conjures up the deep-blue translucence of the ocean, the white sheen of the ice shelf and the dull grey of the rock massif of the polar regions. The iceberg in the foreground on the right-hand side evokes a sense of monumentality. The design requires only three different attributes to generate the rugged expanse of the inhospitable polar regions. In the foreground, near the polymer ring, a leopard seal dives in the stillness and vastness of the ocean. The iceberg only shows its tip and conceals its mass under the water’s surface. A land mass with the calving front of an outlet glacier extends towards the edge of the coin in the background.

The reverse features an eagle framed by the words “BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND”, the value and denomination, the year 2021, the twelve stars of Europe and the mint mark “A” (Berlin), “D” (Munich), “F” (Stuttgart), “G” (Karlsruhe) or “J” (Hamburg), depending on where the coin was minted.

Its smooth edge is embossed with the inscription:
“KLIMAZONEN DER ERDE” (CLIMATE ZONES OF THE EARTH).

The €5 coin “Polar climate zone” consists of two different cupronickel alloys and a translucent polymer ring. It weighs 9 grams, has a diameter of 27.25 millimetres and was available both in mint condition and with a proof-like finish.