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Posted 06 May 2010 - 12:47 PM
Here are some images out of my sketchbook.
I like coins that have nature themes, and this one seemed to personally fit well with the passing seasons, and my caching rhythms. So, I picked up the design about a month later, developing some official art, and sent it off. I was quite happy when one of the coin stores was kind enough to accept it for production. Here is an image of my final artwork:
And, I am also a geek, so a little science adds to the appeal for me. The changing seasons are not related to our distance from the sun (as my little one, Cricket likes to tell me), but are instead related to the tilt of our earth’s axis.
An equinox occurs twice a year, when the Earth's axis is tilted neither away from nor towards the Sun, when the center of the Sun is in the same plane as the Earth's equator. The word equinox derives from the Latin words aequus (equal) and nox (night). An equinox happens each year at two specific moments in time (rather than two whole days), when there is a location on the Earth's equator where the center of the Sun can be observed to be directly, vertically overhead, occurring around March 20/21 and September 22/23 each year. On a day of the equinox, the center of the Sun spends a roughly equal amount of time above and below the horizon at every location on the Earth, night and day being of roughly the same length.
A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is most inclined toward or away from the Sun, causing the Sun's visual position in the sky to reach its northernmost or southernmost extreme. The name is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is, the visual movement of the Sun's path north or south comes to a stop before reversing direction.
The Earth's seasons are caused by the rotation axis of the Earth not being perpendicular to its orbital plane. The Earth's axis is tilted at an angle of approximately 23.44° from the orbital plane; this tilt is called the axial tilt. The axis remains tilted in the same direction towards the stars throughout a year and this means that when a hemisphere (a northern or southern half of the earth) is pointing away from the Sun at one point in the orbit then half an orbit later (half a year later) this hemisphere will be pointing towards the Sun. This effect is the main cause of the seasons. Whichever hemisphere is currently tilted toward the Sun experiences more hours of sunlight each day, and the sunlight at midday also strikes the ground at an angle nearer the vertical and thus delivers more energy per unit surface area.
Okay, sorry for geeking out. Here’s some info about the actual coins!
Size = 1”
Thickness = 2.5mm
Trackable = Yes, with code along the coin rim
Unique Icon = Yes, one for each!
Materials = Front: shiny metals and hard enamels / Back: two levels, antique metals and hard enamels.
Available = Late May/Early June
Versions = Regular Edition will be available at the Geocoin Store, and I'll have an Artist Edition available for trade.
And finally, some images of the sample coins.
They're photos from the mint, so not the best quality.
Hope you like them.
As for cost, well. I'm thinking $6.49 each. I didn't read above all the way, but did Vanelle mention we did a four custom icons for this series, not just one? 
I might still try to enter the 
