The Coin Village enters the numismatic world with a high-relief Zeus at Olympia, in three finishes

Ancient mythology, along with wildlife, is a hugely popular subject in numismatic circles, and a few producers in particular, like CIT, Mint XXI, and Mint of Poland, all bring their distinct styles to the genre. Joining them today is The Coin Village, with their own unique take on one of the biggest figures in the ancient civilisations, the head of the Greek pantheon, Zeus.

We all know who Zeus is, so let’s head straight to the coin. The style here is what we would call a modernised ancient. The reverse face, depicts one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World – the Statue of Zeus at Olympus. Built around 435 BCE by the Greek sculptor Phidias, it is believed to have stood around 12.4 metres in height, and resided in the Temple of Zeus in Olympia. Like all the ancient wonders except for the Great Pyramid at Giza, it was lost, likely in the 5th century CE, so it managed to stand for almost a millennium.

Its exact appearance is unknown, but it did appear on some coins from the period, so historians have a general idea. The depiction on the coin fits in with that, and you can imagine it was a magnificent thing, clad in ivory and gold. The obverse is a composition of Zeus poses, all wielding his iconic thunderbolt, overlaid on a background filled with symbolism. Again, the look hints strongly at the ancient world, eschewing the sharp, technical styles of much of the competition, It’s different,

This is a two-ounce silver coin, and there’s a choice of three different finishes. The antiqued finish is a given in this genre and also the one with the highest mintage, at a still small 259 units. The gilded variant is capped at just 99 pieces, and in an unusual twist, the clean silver coin is the rarest, at a positively tiny 39. All have an engraved serial number on the edge and come boxed with a COA. They should be available to order shortly.