Mint21 rides into view with the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in silver
The second debut coin from new producer Mint21. the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is a different take on this powerful tale of doom from the Mint of Poland series currently underway. While that series has an artistic style rooted in the modern take, this new Mint21 coin employs a very cool, almost Medieval style to tell the story. It’s the first of a trilogy with the theme of ‘Apocalypse’.
As with their new Mercury coin, this is an antique-finished, rimless, 3oz silver coin with some colour highlighting. It’s high-relief, of course, and the images show great levels and definition. We love the design. This style has always been an attractive one and it seems particularly appropriate given the subject. The Four Horsemen are depicted under full charge and pack the whole reverse face out. A touch of colour on the hourglass of the rider Death in the foreground is subtle and not distracting.
The obverse delves even deeper into a style that evokes the Middle Ages of European religious art. Four symbols, each evoking a Bible Gospel and meant to represent the four faces of God, are depicted and they all look like they came straight from an illuminated manuscript. The winged man represents Matthew, the winged lion is Mark, the winged ox is Luke, and the eagle is John. The coin is issued for Cameroon, but eschews either their coat-of-arms, or the rarer effigy of Queen Elizabeth II. This maximises the space available for the unique design, fortunately.
The overall look of the coin is beautifully done. Just 500 will be struck and it comes presented in a quality box with a certificate of authenticity. Shipping around the end of June, it should retail around the €300 mark. A great addition to the genre. Distributed by Top World Coins.
THE FOUR HORSEMEN
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are described in the last book of the New Testament of the Bible, called the Book of Revelation of Jesus Christ to John of Patmos, at 6:1-8. The chapter tells of a book or scroll in God’s right hand that is sealed with seven seals. The Lamb of God opens the first four of the seven seals, which summons four beings that ride out on white, red, black, and pale horses.
Though theologians and popular culture differ on the first Horseman, the four riders are often seen as symbolizing Conquest or Pestilence (and less frequently, the Christ or the Antichrist), War, Famine, and Death. The Christian apocalyptic vision is that the Four Horsemen are to set a divine apocalypse upon the world as harbingers of the Last Judgment.
One reading ties the Four Horsemen to the history of the Roman Empire subsequent to the era in which the Book of Revelation was written. That is, they are a symbolic prophecy of the subsequent history of the Empire.
| SPECIFICATION | |
| DENOMINATION | 3,000 Francs CFA |
| COMPOSITION | 0.999 silver |
| WEIGHT | 93.3 grams |
| DIMENSIONS | 55.0 mm |
| FINISH | Antique |
| MODIFICATIONS | High-relief, digital colour |
| MINTAGE | 500 |
| BOX / COA | Yes / Yes |
I’m happy that someone is stepping up to the plate to challenge the ‘wayward’ ways of the Poland Mint and it’s dealers…but this thing falls woefully short, sadly!! No relief, bland, and boring. Sadly. I hope more and more mints come into the fray and product high quality, high relief, good detail pieces like the gods, goddesses, titans, etc…the MoP needs to be kept in check…their prices and those of the dealers…and the hoarding (price control) is getting to be a bit ridiculous, IMHO. No convincing me otherwise, so don’t even try. Lol. I have too much visibility of what is happening behind the scenes. Lol. But kudos to these guys for trying, but they need to step up their game…this one will be a fail, IMHO…but let’s see.
Yes, the rapid rise in after market values is a bit worrying. The comic book and trading card markets had similar problems and both crashed badly, so I would personally warn against about $1,000 for a recent release on ebay.
I do like this coin. It has a different style to the MoP stuff – a little more historical, perhaps.
It’s an interesting & good effort,and more historical for sure, but lacks the drama & beauty of the Mint of Poland’s two releases(White Horse & Red Horse)so far. I’m agreeing w/Bob. Until proven otherwise, MoP is king.
In looking further at this coin,it’s really drawn me in. All four horsemen there & the coin shows the confusion & despair of the last judgment. More subtle than MoP style but excellent nonetheless. Plus, the gold-gilded hourglass represents time running out before the last judgment day. That is way cool. I bought it! Give it a second look.