First coming to prominence in the 12th century BCE, at a time known as the Greek Dark Ages, and surviving until the accepted end date of classical antiquity (600 CE), Ancient Greece spent most of this time as a loose conglomeration of city states, sharing language and culture, but keeping their own political structures. Names such as Sparta, Athens, Thebes, and Corinth, are as well known today as they ever were. When they weren’t fighting among themselves, they were colonising the Mediterranean coastal regions.

The list of cultural achievements emanating from Ancient Greece is almost immeasurable. Art and science in its many forms flourished, including narrative historiography – one of the reasons we know so much about the regions past today. Their mythology, born from the earlier Minoan and Mycenaean cultures, much like the modern Abrahamic religions took from Sumeria, Assyria and Egypt, is one of the most talked about in modern pop culture, from the Olympian pantheon, to the many tales, like the recent interest in Homer’s Odyssey. Greek language became a fixture of the ancient world, until supplanted by Latin as Rome spread its power.

As before, the coin is centred around a famous cultural artefact, overlaid above the culture’s alphabet. Here, the figure is the extraordinary sculpture of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, found on the island of Milos in 1820 by a farmer, and dated to between 160-110 BCE. Standing over two metres tall, and missing her arms, the statue is considered the quintessential example of Greek art, at least in popular consciousness. It appears on the coin in high-relief. The background shows us a facade of the Parthenon, itself the architectural icon of this civilisation. Behind it, coloured, are lines of Greek decorative meander patterns.

I’ve been a big admirer of this series since it debuted, and this latest design has done nothing to erode that. The common obverse with seven alphabets circumnavigating Cameroon’s national emblem, is present again. A really outstanding series, nicely presented, it will be a shame to see it end with the release of the Roman coin. Boxed with a COA, the 300 coins to be struck are available to order now. We’ll be collecting this series into its own Coin Series Profile soon.