The penultimate coin in one of the most popular numismatic series of recent years, this new release from the Perth Mints Gods/Goddesses of Olympus range features the Greek Goddess of war, Athena. Strictly speaking, calling her the goddess of war isn’t really accurate as she was actually considered the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, mathematics, strength, war strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill; quite a busy girl then…

The coin is the fifth in this style to be released by the Perth Mint, and the second in the Goddesses series. The Gods series covered the three big guns of Greek mythology, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. The Goddesses series will also encompass three coins; Hera was released earlier this year,  with the final design depicting Aphrodite coming later in 2015, probably August or October. As before it’s a rimless, 20z, antique-finish coin, a format since picked up by Scottsdale with its epic Bible series of ten sets of six coins to be released over the next decade. Whatever your opinion of the artwork on these or the Scottsdale coins, it’s a brilliant format we’d love to see more of, and will.

There’s enough in our other articles that we don’t need to overload you again here, suffice to say these have all appreciated on the secondary market, some quite heavily and we see no reason this one won’t follow suit. The artwork has always divided opinion but a majority, including me, love the stylistic design and consider it a great fit for the format. It’s different, and as you all know, we consider different approaches to design essential to maintain interest in modern numismatics. Many attempts fail, but those that succeed go on to expand our choice brilliantly. Just look at the 2004 Tiffany Art coin and how it led to the sometimes stunning art-architectural coins we have today.

Beautifully packaged, Athena is available now for AU$179.00 on the Perth Mint website, which is reachable by clicking the button at the bottom of the article.

MINTS DESCRIPTION

The second coin in the exciting new Goddesses of Olympus coin series features Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom and the patron of the city of Athens. Athena represented courage, inspiration, law and justice, mathematics, strength, strategy, arts, and crafts. She was also  considered the Goddess of War and a companion of many heroes including Odysseus, Jason, and Heracles.

Struck by The Perth Mint from 99.9% pure silver, the coin is issued as legal tender under the authority of the Government of Tuvalu.

DESIGN: The reverse of the coin depicts Athena next to an olive tree, wearing an aegis and holding a large spear in her left hand, and her shield in her right hand. She is accompanied by a serpent and an owl, with the Parthenon and ancient Athens in the background. The design includes the inscription ATHENA, and The Perth Mint’s ‘P’ mintmark.

The obverse of the coin portrays the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the monetary denomination, and the 2015 year-date.

To capture the depth and detail of the design, the coin is struck in high relief to a rimless format and features an antique finish, which gives the coin an aged affect.

PACKAGING: The coin is housed in a prestigious round wooden display case, with stunning detail on its lid and packaged in a beautifully illustrated shipper.

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SPECIFICATION