AUB Lee Observatory - 10 LBP (Standard)
Item
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Title
AUB Lee Observatory - 10 LBP (Standard)
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Description
This is the world first coin in the shape of a hemisphere.
1874 – The Lee Observatory was among the first buildings to be erected on the campus of the Syrian Protestant College (SPC). It is named after Henry Lee, a British merchant from Manchester, who gave 150 Pounds Sterling for the building. The construction site was chosen by Dr. Cornelius Van Dyck, a physician, a teacher of astronomy at the College, and a prodigious translator and author of teaching texts in Arabic. It was first named the Lee AstroPhysical Observatory which telegraphed astronomical and meteorological observations daily during Ottoman rule to the Imperial Observatories in Constantinople and hence to Vienna. In 1891, Robert H. West, Van Dyck’s successor, decided to have it rebuilt and designed the new Observatory. The building as it stands today was completed in 1894. One of the many scientific services it rendered was for Dar-al Fatwa, which had come to depend on AUB's telescope to record the birth of the moon and the start of the holy month of Ramadan. Like other AUB buildings of its era, the Observatory bears witness to AUB’s leadership in scientific endeavors and civic service. (Source: Official AUB 150th Anniversary Commemorative Coins website)
Remark: Although the quantity mentioned for mintage on the COA is "Up to 2000", yet it seems that the actual minted quantity is only 1000 as mentioned in a brochure produced by Mint of Poland about these medals and distributed during the Beirut Money Fair 2016.
COA Number: 333
Official AUB 150th Anniversary Commemorative Coins website
BDL Public Announcement
AUB Standard Set COA PDF
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Peculiarity
The world first coin in the shape of a hemisphere.
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Cite this
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AUB Lee Observatory - 25 LBP (Limited)
150th Anniv of AUB - Standard Series