Murano is the name of an archipelago lying in the Venetian lagoon and also a word that is synonymous with the ancient glass mastery. It owns the first of a series of silver coins celebrating the milestones in the history of glass.

The Republic of Venice, from time immemorial boasted the production of glass, which is unique worldwide. The furnace of the glass masters, however, accounted considerable danger for a beautiful city built of wood - because of a threatening fires, all these craftsmen were moved to the islands of Murano. However, this did not end their misery - they were not allowed to leave their new home. The export of the Venetian glass brought a great wealth to the Republic, and its leaders feared a disclosure of the highly guarded secrets of glass. In order to prevent the exiles from rebellion, they received numerous privileges - such as the right to carry a sword - and their earnings, along with social prestige, grew nicely. Over the centuries, other pioneers in Europe discovered the glass industry (among them Czech glassmakers, to whom is dedicated the second issue of this series) and Italian archipelago lost its monopoly. But the legendary quality of its products survived until today.

The coin, prepared by the German company Numiscom, takes the form of silver ring weighing two troy ounces with an embossed relief. Its reverse side shows the inscription VETRO DI MURANO supplemented with a decorative motif brought out in the characteristic style of the Venetian Gothic. The reverse then carries the essentials of the issuer of the coin, which is the Republic of Congo - the national emblem, the year of issue 2015 and the nominal value of 1000 FRANCS CFA. The main attraction of the coin, however, is its unique glass middle - a female portrait on a purple glass is processed with a traditional Murano technique of enameling and is based on an original Italian platter made in the 15th century.

The handiwork makes each coin the only original in the world.

A part of each issue is a brochure in English detailing its extraordinary story and a deluxe frame with cover used to display the coin.