Angels & Demons are explored in coin form, starting with a striking look at the big bad, Lucifer

Our admiration for the various Mint of Poland myths and legends coin series is well known, to the point we even keep a full guide to them all. We’ve never had reason to question the quality of design and strike, so when a new coin comes out, it’s always going to be about the design alone. We’ve noted that the best coins come from working with third parties that guide the design in their own way. People like Coin Shoppe, Pela, Numiartis and Magikos, have cooperated to produce some fine issues and now Silvercoins Europe have joined the fray.

Angels & Demons are everywhere in popular culture today, especially literature and TV, so it’s great to see them get this kind of numismatic treatment. The first fruit of this collaboration is Lucifer. There’s no better place to start than the big baddie – even the NZ Mint kicked off its Star Wars range with Darth Vader, and Lucifer is about as striking a figure as you’ll see in Christian mythology.

The design is a real beauty. It’s a pretty unique interpretation, moving away from the gruesome evil of many stories, to something more focused and purposeful. You can easily see him as the fallen angel of lore. The wing spars ending in blades are a super touch, one having impaled an angel. A demon and angel are having an aerial battle in the background. I really like this one, further enhanced by some selective gilding of Lucifer’s weapon.

The obverse is beautiful, continuing the mints trend of minimalising the effigy, or in this case, emblem of Niue. This leaves acres of space for something special, and the vista of nature, both flora and fauna, fills every bit of available space. This will be common to the series, and represents what the Angels and Demons are fighting for control of.

The coin format is a classic – two ounces of fine silver, rimless, antiqued, and with a high-relief strike. Regular readers will know how much we like this, and it’ll work equally well for this theme as it does the usual ancient gods. With a mintage of just 500 pieces, this first coin bodes well this being a series to watch. There’ll be one coin per year, alternating between angel and demon. Available to order shortly, it should ship, Covid allowing, around the end of June. Dealers interested, feel free to drop us an email for contact details and look out for more to come from SCE later this year.

LUCIFER

Satan, Beelzebub, Lucifer Morningstar, Mephistopheles, Al-Shaytan, the Devil – multiple names for the ultimate personification of evil in many of the worlds religious cultures. In Christianity. Lucifer is a fallen angel and the only being who stands in opposition to God. He does this by sowing discord amongst people, through lies and coercion.

His appearance varies considerably, sometimes portrayed as blue, red or black, and either with or without horns, wings or tail. Even the details differ, with the horns, for example, being from a goat or a ram, Much of this is down to the artists of the Medieval and Rennaisance periods, whose wild imaginings and interpretations have remained in the popular conciousness to this day.

Today, the popular image is of a fallen angel, scheming and manipulating, usually disguising his horned visage, just as he did when tempting Eve in the Garden of Eden. A fascinating antagonist that has inspired artists and writers for millenia, as well as coin designers today.