2019 Inventions of Leonardo – Flying Machine

Published on the occasion of the 500th anniversary when the Renaissance man exhaled the last time, the first silver coin represents a flying machine in the form of a glider.

The helicopter proved to be an impasse in Leonardo’s attempt to create a flying machine. The inventor realized that the human power that should drive it would not be enough to take off. So he returned to the drawing board. He admired the animals, enforced their rights and was likely to be a vegetarian. He decided to imitate what he had learned from his beloved dumb faces. He was initially inspired by a bird flight. As a model for the new invention, which he simply called a “bird”, he chose a kite – a small and agile predator. He created a number of sketches based on its skeleton, but it was still not perfect. He continued studying the flying creatures and finally wrote down in his diary: “Remember that your bird must not imitate anything other than a bat. And that’s because it’s flying through the membrane and not the feathers like the birds. That bird must rise to a wind, so its wings must be robust – made of thick skin and ropes.” Unlike the helicopter Leonardo actually built and even tried his “bird” which more than anything else recalls today’s hang-glider.

Unfortunately, he was not successful at the time, but when his compatriots repeated his attempt five centuries later, they succeeded. Leonardo da Vinci could become the first flightman in human history. The glider, however, was not the last invention. He invented a parachute, a wind gauge to check velocity of wind, an anemoscope to check wind direction and an inclinometer to check the horizontal position of the flight.

Reverse

The renaissance master himself looks at the layout of the glider. The composition of the reverse side is closed by the English inscription FLYING MACHINE.

Obverse

Shows all of the inventions that will appear in the miniseries. Apart from helicopter there is a glider, a machine gun and a tank. The name and the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, the nominal value of 1 DOLLAR (NZD) and the year of the issue 2019.

Packaging

Presented in a small coin box with an enclosed certificate of authenticity. A collectors tin to hold all four coins is available at extra cost.

Coming in 2019

The other three coins are the Helicopter (February), the Machine Gun (July) and the Tank (September).