Title

AUB Lee Observatory - 25 LBP (Limited)

Denomination

25 LBP

Date

2016

TID

C12.11

Material

Silver 999

Silver

Manufacture

Proof Strike

Weight (g)

250

Diameter (mm)

45

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)

Official AUB 150th Anniversary Commemorative Coins website

BDL Public Announcement

Mintage

10

TRS Tier (Rarity Level)

TRS A-

TRS A=10

Peculiarity

The world first coin in the shape of a hemisphere.

Bears Date

2016

Iconography

AUB 150 Years Logo

Shape

Hemisphere

Region

Lebanon

Authority

Republic of Lebanon

Stated Authority

BANQUE DU LIBAN

Mint

Polish Mint

Numismatic Group

Commemorative Coins

Is Part Of

150th Anniv of AUB - Limited Series

Relation

AUB Lee Observatory - 10 LBP (Standard)

American University of Beirut

AUB - VIAF

AUB - Wikipedia

References

Official AUB 150th Anniversary Commemorative Coins website

BDL Public Announcement

Source

AUB Coins Website