Coin Unboxing #1: 2oz Silver Coin Goddesses of Olympus - Athena
2oz Silver Coin Goddesses of Olympus - Athena
Today's coin unboxing is the first of many to come. The coin featured today is the 2oz silver Goddesses of Olympus - Athena rimless high relief coin struck by The Perth Mint Australia. The coin is issued as legal tender under the authority of the Government of Tivalu with a denomination of two dollars.
This coin was extremely popular and sold out shortly after being released on the Perth Mint website. I was fortunate enough to work close to an Australian Post shop in Brisbane CBD, they had a very limited pre-allocation of these coins, so I was lucky enough to secure one of these stunning coins.
Please share you thoughts on this coin in the comments below:
- Is this a coin you could see in your stack or coin collection?
- Do you have an interest in numismatic collectable silver coins?
- What sort of premium do you think should be on numismatic coins, if any?
Coin Details:
| Mint/Brand: | The Perth Mint Australia |
|---|---|
| Silver Content: | 2 Troy Ounce |
| Purity: | .999 Silver |
| Denomination: | $2 (Tuvalu) |
| Weight: | 62.27g |
| Diameter: | 40.50mm |
| Thickness: | 6.00mm |
| Mintage: | 2,000 |
| Designer: | Thomas Vaughan |
| Coin Number: | 0964 |
The Box
The outer box is white with gold imagery and writing. The images depict the three Goddesses of Olympus in the Perth Mint coin series, the goddesses are Aphrodite, Athena and Hera. The words 'GODDESSES OF OLYMPUS' and 'ATHENA' appear on the top of the box, the words '2oz SILVER COIN' appears on the side of the box.
Coin Certificate
Who is Athena?
The accompanying coin certificate reads:
In ancient Greek mythology, Athena was worshipped as the Goddess of Wisdom and was also the patron of the city of Athens. Athena represented courage, inspiration, law and justice, mathematics, strengh, strategy, arts, and crafts. She was also considered the Goddess of War and a companion of many heroes including Odysseus, Jason, and Heracles.
Athena was the daugther of Zeus and Metis, a nymph, and the half-sister of Hercules. Zeus is said to have heard a prophecy that the child that Metis bore after she had given birth to Athena would become the lord of heaven. In order to prevent this from happening, Zeus swallowed Metis when she was still pregnant with Athena. When the time came for her to be born, Hephaistos cut open Zeus' head with an axe and Athena emerged fully grown and wearing full armour.
According to mythical lore, Athena competed with the Greek God of the Sea, Poseidon, for the dominion of Athens and won by creating the first olive tree. The tree was accepted as a gift and Athena became the patron deity of the city of Athens. The Parthenon was said to have been built by the people of Athens in her honour.
Historically, Athena was often depicted wearing an aegis, a goatskin cloak with a fringe of snakes, and carrying a shield upon which was the head of the gorgon sister Medusa. Other objects sacred to Athena included an owl, an olive branch, a serpent, a long spear, and a lance.
Display Case
The rimless, high relief silver coin is housed in a round wooden display case, with detailed illustrations of the three goddesses on the lid.
Inside the round display case, the words 'The Perth Mint Australia' appear next to the swan logo in gold. The antique finish 2oz coin is positioned in the centre of the round display case and is bordered by a circular pattern in gold.
Design
Reverse of Coin
The reverse of the coin depicts Athena standing next to an olive tree, she is wearing an aegis. She is about to throw a large spear with her left hand, in her right hand she is holding a shield. A serpent slithers alongside her and an owl flies above her head. The Parthenon appears in the background. The inscription ATHENA and The Perth Mint’s ‘P’ mintmark also appear on the reverse side of the coin.
Obverse of Coin
The obverse of the coin portrays the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the denomination of Tuvalu 2 Dollars and the year 2015.
@strenue I own this coin Graded in a PCGS holder and like you I bought the coin the day it was offered on the Perth Mint website........It is a great coin and great minds think alike I did my BLOG on Norse Goddesses today................
Awesome, I'll go have a look. My next unboxing is going to feature the HERA coin which is the first in the series. Do you have any of the God's of Olympus coins too? I will be doing an unboxing post of the POSEIDON in the near future as well. So @stokjockey, do you like numismatic coins as well as bullion coins?
I do not buy these but love looking at them.
Hey goldrooster, I used to be a purist stacker, focusing solely on low premium bullion coins and low premium bars. However, over the years I have definitely developed a fondness for certain numismatic and collectable series coins. I do not pay the very high premiums that some of the coins attract, I only tend to pick them up on issue or if they become available at a local coin shop. What is your main stacking strategy?
See my latest post. An occasional higher premium coin I like as well but not too many. Wanna stick to my first target which was setting aside a part of my wealth in gold.
Hi @goldrooster, I had a read of you last post, nice analytical work. It is a bit of a natural transition from silver to gold. Silver is so rewarding in the beginning as you can really ramp up your stack quickly with different coins and bars. The attraction of the yellow metal is strong though. I actually quite like fractional gold coins. When I first got a 1/10 coin, I remember thinking, it is so small. Now I like that they are small and you can acquire many different coin designs in fractional gold. I will be doing a post in the coming days that will show some of the cool 1/10 coins I have acquired.
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That's a cool looking coin..
Thanks @davedickeyyall! Yes I am a fan of the Perth Mint antic finish silver coins. I also love that they are high relief and rimless, it really makes the design so prominent and it jump out at you.
Beautiful coin and amazing packaging, is the coin under plastic to keep it away from humidity
The coin itself is not actually under plastic, however the antic finish process seems to protect the coin somewhat from the elements. The packaging I have stored within plastic to keep it all dry and dust free. In my next unboxing post I will share the video from Perth Mint that shows the process of giving the coin its antic finish.
With some silver jewellery they use liver or sulphur in warm water to blacken the silver, then polish the high points to give contrast, I wonder if something similar is done here.
That's a sweet coin man, amazing details and great photos, Keep up the excellent posts.
Thanks Phelimint, that means a lot coming from an experienced Steemian like yourself. It is really nice when someone appreciates the time and effort that goes into creating a post. I found some of your Introduction to Steemit posts extremely useful.
Wow oh wow. I'm not a coin collector, I didn't even realise it was really a thing until I came across your post on your Hera coin via the teamaustralia tag. These are just so damn cool. Like I said, I love ancient history and the likeness used for each of these gods are stunning. I'm enjoying your content!
Nice coin. Thanks for sharing.