When Pigs Fly – The Impossible Takes Wing
Someone said it would happen when pigs fly. This little fellow apparently took that as a challenge. Intaglio Mint’s When Pigs Fly round turns a familiar expression of disbelief into a cheerful scene, with a winged pig soaring through billowy clouds in 2 troy ounces of .999 fine silver.
A Very Old Joke About “Never”
“When pigs fly” is a humorous way of saying that something is impossible or will never happen. Its charm comes from an instantly understandable image: an ordinary farm animal doing something completely outside its nature. No lengthy explanation is needed to make the joke land.
The expression has a longer history than its modern wording might suggest. Merriam-Webster’s discussion of barnyard idioms notes that early versions added an extra absurdity: the pigs would fly with their tails forward. That detail makes an already impossible event even more ridiculous, showing how vividly earlier speakers could dismiss an unlikely claim.
Here, the design playfully reverses the saying. Instead of remaining an impossibility, the pig is already airborne. For a collector, that can make the round a lighthearted reminder of an unlikely achievement, a stubborn ambition or simply a joke worth keeping.
A Happy Pig Above the Clouds
The obverse depicts a happy winged pig flying through a sky filled with billowing clouds. The cheerful subject gives the round an inviting character, while the surrounding clouds establish a fanciful setting. It is an uncomplicated visual punchline: the familiar answer “never” has sprouted wings.
The reverse presents the large Intaglio Mint logo inside a plain border. “TWO TROY OUNCES” above and “.999 FINE SILVER” below identify the metal content, with stars flanking the design.
Specifications
- Weight: 2 troy ounces
- Purity: .999 fine silver
- Diameter: 39 mm
- Thickness: approximately 6 mm
- Edge: Reeded
- Finish: Brilliant Uncirculated
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