Perseus, and his most powerful adversary, the Gorgon Medusa, are depicted on a shield-shaped silver coin from Mint of MK

Our catching up on coverage of mint of MK’s output of the last month continues apace from its start yesterday, and this time it’s a return to ancient mythology, Greek to be more specific. This is obviously a hugely popular theme in modern numismatics, so the pressure to stand out from the crowd is particularly intense. MK seems to have risen to the challenge, however.

The tale of Perseus and his heroic exploits are well known, and the most famous of them was his battle with the Gorgon called Medusa. His use of a polished shield to hunt and kill a creature whose gaze could turn you to stone, has become the stuff of legend, and it’s this tale that forms the basis for the new coin. Perseus is depicted wielding an ornately decorated sword, clad in a torso breastplate, and holding aloft the severed head of Medusa.

The main focus of this coin face is actually Medusa herself. The depiction of the Gorgon, replete with snakes all over the reverse face, is a superb one, with two serpents breaking past the coin’s primary boundary. Medusa’s skin is highlighted with gold, which adds a much-needed focal point in a face packed with so many individual elements, and allows it all to remain coherent.

The obverse also has a gilded backdrop, upon which is an ornate pattern, much like you would find on a 16th century French shield. Cleverly, the two snakes that passed over the coin rim on the reverse, have been used to create two mini-shield adornments on this face. A small circular area is set aside for the issue details for the African nation, the Republic of Gabon.

The three-ounce coin comes boxed with a Certificate of Authenticity, and the mintage is capped at 333 pieces. A very attractive entrant into a genre that has perhaps one of the highest quality bars of them all. Available to order now.