Powercoin launches its latest silver coin series, Magical Creatures at Night, with the legendary Phoenix

The ancient civilisations all had at least one thing in common – mythological beasts. No matter what continent that society was located on, and no matter whether they had contact with others or not, they each had rich pantheons of fantastical creatures to scare the kids with, or more likely, to keep the peasants in line. Why is this?

I can wholeheartedly recommend a book called ‘The First Fossil Hunters’ by Adrienne Mayor, which looks at the impact of fossils on the likes of the ancient Roman and Greek empires, for example. It’s just endlessly fascinating. Megalodon teeth were said to be dragon teeth, Elephant/Mammoth skulls, with their big central hole for the nasal cavity, were associated with Cyclops, and there are countless other examples. Add in the way religions steal ideas from earlier ones, and all the current major ones have done this extensively, and it’s easy to see why the legends are so ubiquitous.

The Phoenix is one of the more striking creatures, possibly originating in Greek mythology, but also common in Chinese, Egyptian, and Persian legends. Indeed, the Dragon & Phoenix are staples in East Asian myths. The legend deals with renewal and rebirth, with the immortal bird rising again from the ashes of its predecessor. It’s a powerful piece of symbolism – something ancient writers did so well.

Powercoin’s latest issue is a two-ounce silver coin, replete with smartminted high-relief on the reverse face, and a black proof finish. The reverse face, by Italian artist Arianna Cicconi, is super-clean, with a potent looking Phoenix wrapped in flame-coloured feathers. The colour application is very impressive, graduated nicely to infer a strong backlight, as if the bird has just emerged from the flames.

The obverse depicts a field of volcanoes, all shown in darkness, with the magma glowing intensely. It looks okay, and given how tightly tied to the subject of this coin it is, we suspect that it isn’t a common one, but specific to this first issue. Overall, a very striking and dramatic design, it comes boxed with a Certificate of Authenticity, and is available to pre-order now.