As promised, here’s the third coin in a row to feature the three-headed pooch, Cerberus, the guardian of the entrance to the underworld in Greek mythology. The Czech Mint coin was a simple proof coin that’s part of their ‘Mythical Beasts’ series, and the second one was actually a Hades coin that happened to have Cerberus as an element of the design. This third one is easily the most ambitious and has a fine pedigree. What went wrong?

We’re huge fans of the various Mint of Poland mythology ranges, to the point we sometimes feel like an unpaid marketer for them, but that doesn’t mean every coin is a hit. I really don’t like this one from an artistic sense. It depicts Cerberus, chained to the entrance of the underworld, and is presented in high-relief with an antique finish and some selective colouring. We’re sure the strike and finish will be as first class as always.

However, the design doesn’t gel for us. There’s no sense of the size and power of the animal, and the chains seem oddly placed. The right-hand head looks to be sprouting from the back end (Butt-head? We’ll call the left head Beavis then…), and the ‘entrance’ is constricting. The whole front-on pose doesn’t work. There are some neat touches, but not enough to save it. Available now, this is a 50mm diameter, two ounce silver coin, issued for Cameroon and well presented. Hopefully, we can get some real images of it to see how its made the transition from render to reality.

LINKS: MINT OF POLAND