Life is a journey that comes with many hurdles and various choices that must be made along the way. The Through That Door Series from the North American Mint and Chautauqua Silver Works captured the journey of life and its challenging decisions in a unique series of silver rounds with distinctive obverse designs and a shared reverse element used in all rounds in the collection. Provident Metals now takes a closer look at the final issue of the Through That Door Series in our weekly blog post.
Cease Obverse Design
In the obverse design of the 1 oz Silver Cease Round, Chautauqua Silver Works puts the collection to bed with a design offering common symbols of the end. The most prominent feature in the design element is the pair of feet pointed upward with the bottoms facing toward the viewer. Like a body in the morgue, there is a toe tag on the big toe of the left foot. The tag has the initials “RWK” printed on it. Next to the feet, a candle has been snuffed out and the last bits of smoke flutter away in the wind. Above the feet, there is a book open to the final chapter that starts “Through That Door – Chapter Nine.”
Above the design described, there is a crescent moon arrangement of doors. There is one door for each design in the series. The doors each have a small viewing window with a number on it to correspond with the release. The final door, number nine, is open. The design rocker includes “Cease” at the top with a key on either side and “No. 9” at the bottom.
Chautauqua Silver Works Reverse Design
For the reverse field of the 1 oz Silver Cease Rounds, the North American Mint strikes the logo of the Chautauqua Silver Works onto the surface of the rounds. The entire field looks like a bullseye. At the very center of this bullseye are the markings from the Periodic Table of Elements unit for silver. Here, you will find “Bullseye” and “Ag 47” inscribed. Immediately around this central piece is a ring with “One Ounce .999 Fine Silver” inscribed. The very outer rings of the design field have inscriptions of “Chautauqua Silver Works” and “One More Ounce – One Less Fetter.”
Details of the Final Issue
All of the silver rounds issued in the Through That Door Series are proof-like specimens. The proof-like visuals on these rounds deliver elements of frosting to the designs and polished mirrored background fields. The rounds in this collection are all capped in mintage at 2,500 silver rounds and are packaged inside of protective plastic capsules. Each round has 1 Troy oz of .999 pure silver and comes with an edge-lettered serial number between 1 and 2,500.
Reviewing the Through That Door Series
Introduced in 2019, the Through That Door Series attempts to capture in its imagery the challenging decisions we face in this life and the potential outcomes of those choices. Making decisions can confound anyone as the outcomes are unknown, much like opening a door and never knowing for sure what you’re going to find on the other side. The previous eight designs in this collection include the following (in order):
History of the Mints
The partnership of the North American Mint and Chautauqua Silver Works is one that sees two New York-based operations work together. The North American Mint is located in Rochester, New York, and was founded in 1986 by William LaMere Sr., a man with more than three decades of experience working with coins and medallions. Today, his sons carrying on the family legacy and have made the North American Mint one of the finest private mints in the United States. Chautauqua Silver Works is also based in Western New York and was founded by Ron Kinney. The name of the company, Chautauqua, translates into English meaning “adult education through art, literature, and lectures.”
Snatch the Final Round in the Through That Door Series with Provident Metals
Now available for purchase from Provident Metals, the 1 oz Silver Cease Round is there for you to complete your collection. Please feel free to contact us with any questions by calling 800-313-3315. Provident Metals’ customer service is also available online using our live chat and email address features. Don’t forget to check back with our blog each week for more in-depth information on new releases, and follow us on Facebook for daily info and weekly spot-price contests.
