LPM’s striking ‘Ancient Warriors’ shaped silver coin series heads to Sparta for its second release

The Samurai mask coin launched by LPM back in May was a striking piece of coin art showing off the extravagant style of the JUapanese warriors Kabuto headgear. This time we’re on more familiar territory with he helmet worn by the legendary Spartan Warriors of Ancient Greece.

During the Classic period, Spartan Hoplites wore a variant of the Corinthian style helmet with its expansive cheek and nose guards. Officers would likely have the large crest on the top, giving the helmet its distinctive look. In the later Hellenistic period, it was replaced by the Pilos, a felt cap, which tied in with the abandonment of most of the body armour from earlier periods.

The two-ounce coin is a really beautiful incarnation of the original, of which there were almost countless variants. Its a very crisp, stylised looking design and they’ve done a top job getting the horsehair crest integrated. Given that runs transversally the the front of the helmet, it looks well done on the coin. The obverse has the ‘mini-coin’ issue details and there’s been a change of issuer from Samoa to Fiji.

It comes boxed with a Certificate of Authenticity and the mintage will be helmeted at 500 pieces. We really liked the first issue in this series, and the Spartan Helmet maintains that high standard. A hugely iconic piece of warfare history done full justice in miniature. This is turning into a great little series and we hope it continues delving into the copious ways that armed forces have tried to protect the heads of the warriors while symbolising the culture they represent. Available now.