Notre-Dame Gargoyle Type I – 1 Troy Ounce Silver Round
Explore the Gargoyles of the World collection
LOCATION: NOTRE-DAME, Paris, France
High above the streets of Paris, Notre-Dame’s fantastic stone creatures have become almost as recognizable as the cathedral itself. This Type I silver round captures that watchful viewpoint, placing a sculpted creature against the city skyline with the Eiffel Tower in the distance.
Stone Creatures with Different Roles
Gargoyles have a practical architectural purpose: they carry rainwater away from a building’s walls. At Notre-Dame, long projecting spouts form part of a drainage system designed to protect the masonry. Their unusual shapes make a necessary function visually memorable.
The cathedral’s famous decorative creatures are more precisely called chimeras. These do not serve as water outlets. Many belong to the nineteenth-century restoration associated with Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, whose imaginative interpretation of medieval architecture helped shape the Notre-Dame familiar from photographs and postcards.
Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel helped renew public concern for the cathedral before that restoration. The result is a monument whose identity combines medieval construction with later artistic invention. This round celebrates that layered history through an atmospheric view of one of its best-known subjects.
Obverse Design
A Notre-Dame creature looks across the Paris landscape, with the Eiffel Tower visible beyond. Distressed, textured masonry fills the background fields, giving the scene an architectural character. “NOTRE-DAME” follows the outer circumference near the ten o’clock position.
Reverse Design
Gothic window frames encircle the shared series reverse. “GARGOYLES OF THE WORLD” fills the center, with a small gargoyle perched on the “O” in “GARGOYLES.” The hallmark appears along the lower circumference at six o’clock.
Specifications
- Weight: 1.00 troy ounce
- Thickness: 3.10 mm
- Purity: .999 fine silver
- Edge: Reeded
- Diameter: 39 mm
- Finish: Brilliant Uncirculated
