10 Euro Silver Proof Coin 2008. Sceilig Mhichil

€10 Silver Proof Coin 2008. Sceilig Mhichil

Issued by Central Bank & Financial Services Authority of Ireland

Certificate of Authenticity# 4,234

Struck by The Royal Dutch Mint in Proof Quality with presentation case and outer box.

Quantity limited to 25,000.

The design by Michael Guilfoyle celebrates the spiritual significance of Skellig Michael

At the centre of the design is a graphic representation of the rocky island itself, reflecting the remoteness and relative inaccessibitity of the island situated in the Atlantic Ocean about 15 kilometres west off the coast of Co. Kerry. The early Irish Christians that settled on the island would have endured great hardships both to reach the island and to live there. Having built their dwellings , terraces and oratories above nearly verical cliff walls near the peak of the island, the settlers may have felt that the location was a bridge between this world and the next.

Saint Michael, the patron saint of Skellig, is the Christian Saint who carried the souls of the worthy to heaven.

To illustrate this spiritual ascent to heaven I have depicted a flock of birds rising from the summit of Skellig Michael towardes the stars. These stars serve to represent heaven and also allude to the twelve starts found on the coins founds on the coins of the European Union. The silhouettes of the birds are all species that can be found around the Skellig Islands, such as Gannets, Fulmars, Kittiwakes, Terns, Puffins and Razorbills.