The Judgement of Paris, and the Three Graces, features on the latest Carmen Testa penned ‘Mythos’ coin from Le Grand Mint

Le Grand Mint has debuted the latest in its ‘Mythos’ series, a range that began in 2021 with ‘The Seduction of Europe’, but was essentially relaunched in 2023 carrying a Cameroon denomination. That coin depicted Adonis & Aphrodite, and that was followed in 2024 with a Birth of Aphrodite design featuring an almost metallic colour application. Each was designed by a very talented artist, Carmen Testa, and she’s back with this new 2026 issue.

The theme of this coin is a pivotal tale in Greek mythology, the Judgement of Paris. The story starts with the goddess Eris, who was not invited to the wedding of Peleus to the nymph, Thetis. As the goddess of discord, she threw a golden apple into the wedding guests, inscribed with ‘To the fairest one’. The Greek deities, being notoriously vain took the bait, and Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite fought over it. They agreed to have Paris of Troy choose which of them was the most beautiful, and after being bribed, he chose Aphrodite. He was bribed by being offered Helen of Troy, and the conflict over her led directly to the Trojan War.

The design has Paris, holding the apple of discord in his left hand, sitting under a tree. In front of him, trying to garner his favour, are Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, the last of which he is about to give the apple to. There’s some fine natural anatomy here, and an interesting use of perspective. The background is a swirl of concentric lines, almost like a Zen garden, drawing focus to its centre around the seated Paris. It’s a clever, effective touch. The common obverse that debuted in 2023, returns again, and is a fine design itself.

There are two variants of this two-ounce 0.9999 silver coin being issued, with a combined mintage of 555 pieces. The antiqued version has a capped mintage of 222 pieces, and is my own favourite. The gilded version has a proof finish, and there will be up to 333 of those. Both come boxed, and with a Certificate of Authenticity, and should be available to pre-order now.