Numiscollect’s ‘Gods of the World’ range continues its journey around the world with a trip to Japan

One of the more interesting series of coins based on the gods and legends of world history, Numiscollects’s ‘Gods of the World’ takes a braod view of the deities from different cultures. The big advantage here is the plethora of individualistic styles that we get to see on each new issue, rather than variations on a theme.

There have been four issues to date, touching on Aztec, Egyptian, Greek and indian religions, but for this fifth issue, we’re off to Japan. Despite some visually striking figures in its mythology, Japan is criminally under-represented in this genre (no, that isn’t a signal for every mint to release one!) and knowledge of the various deities is limited, so we take a particular interest in coins that feature this widely admired nation.

Amaterasu is the subject of choice, the glorious goddess of the rising sun. Queen of the Kami, she is analogous to Zeus or Jupiter, sitting at the head of a pantheon of gods, and central to the Shinto religion. It’s no wonder the Japanese Imperial Family has claimed descendence from her. Translating as ‘Shines from heaven’, she is the goddess of creation, but did not create the universe, her role as the living rising sun is to provide light and nourishment to the world. Two of Shinto’s core concepts – order and purity – are represented by her.

A great back story, which is brought to life in another beautiful entrant in this series. Using Smartminting, they have a distinctly unique artistic style in this genre – different fo the numerous Mint of Poland issues. Crisp, ultra-high relief is apparent all over the reverse face of this very pretty coin. Amaterasu is holding a decorated sword, perhaps meant to depict the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, the Grass Cutting Sword which is one of the three holy relics held by the Japanese Imperial family. There’s plenty to look at in the background, from Japanese architecture to symbolic imagery, but thankfully, an almost complete absence of superfluous inscriptions. If you’ve sensed a trend with my posts at AgAuNEWS, you’ll know that too many inscriptions on the main face of a coin are a pet hate of mine.

The obverse is a basic one, with just the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II and the issue details. The whole coin is antique-finished, with that elegant application that BH Mayer seem to do so very well. There’s no gimmickry here, just a top-tier piece of design and implementation as you would expect from Numiscollect. There’s a select group of European producers that are really firing on all cylinders this year, mixing ambition, elegance and quality strikes to take numismatics to new heights. Long may it continue.

Boxed, with a Certificate of Authenticity, it should be available to pre-order now, with shipping in the secnd quarter 2021, assuming no Coroney interference. If you’d like to see the other four coins in this series, and those in the various Numiscollect mythology ranges, check out our comprehensive guide to them. That reminds me, must update that. The work never ends 😉

MINTS DESCRIPTION

Amaterasu is the 5th coin release in the most awesome awarded God series. The is the Goddess of the sun and the universe in Japanese mythology. Minted in 3oz pure .999 silver on a 50mm blank using Smartminting. This gives the coin an ultra high relief with the smallest fine details possible! Only 333 pcs are released worldwide. Get it now before they are gone!

Amaterasu, also known as Amaterasu-Omikami or Ohirume-no-Muchi-no-Kami among other names, is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. One of the major deities (kami) of Shinto, she is also portrayed in Japan’s earliest literary texts, the Kojiki (ca. 712 CE) and the Nihon Shoki (720 CE), as the ruler (or one of the rulers) of the heavenly realm Takamagahara and the mythical ancestress of the Japanese imperial house via her grandson Ninigi.

Along with her siblings, the moon deity Tsukuyomi and the impetuous storm god Susanoo, she is considered to be one of the “Three Precious Children” (mihashira no uzu no miko / sankishi), the three most important offspring of the creator god Izanagi.

Amaterasu’s chief place of worship, the Grand Shrine of Ise in Ise, Mie Prefecture, is one of Shinto’s holiest sites and a major pilgrimage center and tourist spot. As with other Shinto kami, she is also enshrined in a number of Shinto shrines throughout Japan.