2 Oz Silver Coin 2012 Proof Mistress of History Amber Room with Amber Insert

2 Oz SILVER COIN - FIRST OF NEW SERIES - WITH AMBER INSERT !

This extraordinary proof silver coin, is the first in a new series "Mysteries of History", it is dedicated to Amber Room also known as Amber Chamber in the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoye Selo near Saint Petersburg. The history of this spectacular chamber is full of mysteries and secrets, not yet solved till today !

The coin features the splendid Amber Room of Saint Petersburg in Russia, on the right a room details with a real piece of Amber embedded. The reverse depicts Queen Elizabeth II profile.

BACKGROUND AND HISTORY

The Amber Room

The original Amber Room (English sometimes Amber Chamber) in the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoye Selo near Saint Petersburg is a complete chamber decoration of amber panels backed with gold leaf and mirrors. Due to its singular beauty, it was sometimes dubbed the "Eighth Wonder of the World".

The original Amber Room represented a joint effort of German and Russian craftsmen. Construction of the Amber Room began in 1701 to 1709 in Prussia. The room was designed by German baroque sculptor Andreas Schlüter and constructed by the Danish amber craftsman Gottfried Wolfram and remained at Charlottenburg Palace until 1716 when it was given by Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm I to his then ally, Tsar Peter the Great of the Russian Empire.

In Russia it was expanded and after several renovations, it covered more than 55 square meters and contained over six tons of amber. The Amber Room was looted during World War II by Nazi Germany and brought to Königsberg. Knowledge of its whereabouts was lost in the chaos at the end of the war. Its fate remains a mystery, and the search continues.

In 1979 efforts began to rebuild the Amber room at Tsarskoye Selo. In 2003, after decades of work by Russian craftsmen, the reconstructed Amber Room was inaugurated in the Catherine Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia.