718) The Battle of Marathon: Battles that Changed History Coin Series: A $2, 1 Oz Silver Coin minted by the New Zealand Mint on behalf of Niue Island in 2018:
The Battle of Marathon:
In September 490 BC, a vastly outnumbered group of Athenians defeated Persian forces under King Darius, at the Battle of Marathon, Greece.
The Battle was fought between a force of about 9,000-10,000 Athenians and 1,000 Plataeans against some 25,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry, 100,000 armed oarsmen and sailors, 600 triremes, 50 horse carriers and 200 supply ships of the Persian Empire.
The Athenians marched to Marathon to meet the Persian adversary, but stalled the battle while waiting for reinforcements from Sparta.
Meanwhile, one of the Greek commanders - Miltiades - convinced his fellow commanders to attack the Persian forces as they were grouping on the field from their ships. Using his knowledge of Persian battle tactics and in an act that surprised the enemy,
Miltiades ordered his Greek troops to attack the Persian line at a dead run - thereby reducing the impact of the Persian archers. He also weakened his centre and reinforced his wings and although the Athenian centre could not withstand the Persian onslaught and broke, it held long enough for his troops to envelop the Persians which caused confusion among the invaders. As the Persians fled back to their ships, large numbers were slaughtered.
It was estimated by Herodotus (a Greek historian), that as against Greek losses of 192 Athenians and 11 Plataeans, the Persians suffered staggering losses of 6,400 killed and 7 ships destroyed.
The defeat of the Persians at Marathon marked the end of the first Persian invasion of Greece and gave the Greeks confidence in their ability to defend themselves and belief in their continued existence. The Persians forces were driven out of Greece for the next 10 years and it was only when Darius' son Xerxes I restarted the preparations for a second invasion of Greece in 480 BC.
The Battle of Marathon was a water-shed in the Greco-Persian wars, showing the Greeks that they were able to win battles without the Spartans on whom they had previously relied heavily. The Greek esteem as warriors whom the Persians learnt to dread and fear.
The Battle of Marathon led to the rise of Classical Greek civilisation for the next 200 years which has been enduringly influential in Western Society. The Battle of Marathon is seen as a pivotal moment in Mediterranean and European history.
The Marathon Run:
According to Herodotus, an Athenian runner Pheidippides was sent to run from Athens to Sparta to ask for assistance before the battle. He ran a distance of over 225 kilometres (140 miles) arriving in Sparta the day after he left.
Then, following the Battle, the Athenian Army marched the 40 kilometres or so back to Athens at a very high pace, considering the quality of their armour and the fatigue after the battle, in ordr to head off the Persian force sailing around Cape Sounion. They arrived back in the late afternoon, in time to see the Persian ships turn away from Athens, thus completing the Athenian victory.
Pheidippides run to Sparta has become the stuff of legend with stories abounding that he ran to Athens after the Battle of Marathon to announce the Greek victory with the word "nenikekamen!" (meaning "We have won") and dying promptly of exhaustion.
A "Marathon Race" is held in modern Summer Olympics, which was originally of 26 miles (42.195 kilometres, but now reduced to the distance of the Marathon Run - 25 Miles (or 40.0 kilometres).
The Commemorative Coin:
The Reverse of the $2 Silver Coin shows a colourful illustrationof the Athenian Commander Miltiades. He stands against an antique, engraved background showing Greek and Persian troops engaged in close quarters combat.
The peripheral inscription reads -" MARATHON 490 BC".
The Obverse of the $2 Silver Coin shows an effigy of Queen Elizabeth II designed by Ian-Rank Broadley. His initials "IRB" appear below the Queen's neck. The peripheral inscriptions read - " ELIZABETH II. NIUE.TWO DOLLARS" and year of issue "2018".
The specifications of this coin are:
Metal Composition: .999 Fine Silver; Weight: 1 Troy Oz; Coin Quality: Antique with applied colour; Diameter/Size: 40.0 mm; Edge: Milled; Denomination: $2; Year of issue: 2018; Mintage: 5,000 pieces; Issuing country: Niue.
The Coin Box:
The coin comes inside an antique-looking timber box with a black velvet interior. The themed outer box features a black line art illustration of the battle imposed over an antiqued paper texture. The coin comes with a Certificate of Authenticity (COA).
The open antique box in which the coin is placed along with the COA.
The Cover of the Coin Box
The Coin Box together with the cover
Links to Posts on Australia, New Zealand and countries and Overseas Territories of the South Pacific on this Blog:
Links to Posts on Australia, New Zealand and countries and Overseas Territories of the South Pacific on this Blog:
2) Papua New Guinea: An uncirculated coin set brought out in 1995 commemorating the 20th Anniversary of Independence
3) Currency & Coinage of the Solomon Islands: Dollars and Cents
4) New Zealand: New Banknote "Seventh Series" issued under Project "Brighter Money" from 2015 onwards
5) Coinage of the French Polynesian Island of Caledonia (or Nouvelle Caledonie) the CFP Franc
6) French Institution for issuing uniform currency/coinage for French Overseas Territories in the Pacific and the French Southern Territories of Antarctica: The Institut d'emmission d'outre Mer (IEOM)
7) Currency & Coinage of Samoa: Tala and Sene
8) Currency of the South Pacific Island Country of Fiji
9) Coinage of New Zealand: A commemorative coin set issued in 1979
10) Currency and Coinage of Australia: Dollars and Cents
11) The Australian Emblem or the Coat of Arms
12) The story of the Australian Penny
13) The Legend of the Mutiny on the Bounty: A Commemorative Coin Set from the Pitcairn Islands depicting relics from the Bounty issued in 2009
14) An Australian $5 coin issued in 1996, commemorating Australia's greatest cricketing legend - Sir Donald Bradman
15) New Series/Generation of Australian Banknotes being introduced from 01.09.2016 onwards starting from $5 issues
16) Southern Lights: A $1 Silver holographic coin issued by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in January 2017
17) Currency & coinage of the Kingdom of Tonga : Pa'anga & Seniti
18) Postage Stamps & Coin: Commemorating the Centenary of the Trans-Australian Railway Line stamps issued by Australia Post & coins by Perth Mint on 04.07.2017
Links to interesting Posts on coins from Tuvalu Islands:
1)Famous Pirates of the Caribbean :2) Edward Teach or "BlackBeard"
2)Famous Pirates of the Caribbean: 3)Bartholomew Roberts or Black Bart Roberts
3)Famous Pirates of the Caribbean:4)Jack Rackham
4)Famous-pirates-of- the Caribbean : 5) Henry Avery
5)Famous Pirates of the Caribbean : 6) Sir Henry Morgan
6)Norse Goddess Freya - a Silver 2 Dollars High Relief antiquated Coin , the first in the Series titled "Norse Goddesses" (2017)
Other interesting links to posts from Cook Islands minted by Coin Invest Trust:
1) Brexit : Britain's Exit from the EEC : Coins issued by the Cook islands in the denomination of $1, $5 and $ 20 in 2016
2) 150th Anniversary of "The Great Tea Race - 1866": Commemorative Coins in the denomination of 10 and 2 Dollars issued by Cook Islands in 2016
3) The Mystical Ancient Egyptian Labyrinth depicted on $10 Silver coins issued by Cook islands in 2016, under its "Milestones of Mankind Series".
4) King Arthur: The first coin in the six coins "Camelot Series".
5) Quilling Art: Silver 2 Dollars coins issued - Flowers (2016) & Bird (2017)
2) 150th Anniversary of "The Great Tea Race - 1866": Commemorative Coins in the denomination of 10 and 2 Dollars issued by Cook Islands in 2016
3) The Mystical Ancient Egyptian Labyrinth depicted on $10 Silver coins issued by Cook islands in 2016, under its "Milestones of Mankind Series".
4) King Arthur: The first coin in the six coins "Camelot Series".
5) Quilling Art: Silver 2 Dollars coins issued - Flowers (2016) & Bird (2017)
Links to posts on issues from the Republic of Palau:
8) Four Leaf Clover - Coin titled "Silver Fortune" - A 5 Dollars Silver coin issued by Coin Invest Trust in 2018
Links to Posts on coin issues from Niue Islands:
1) Battle of Marathon: Battles that changed History Coin Series: A $2 Silver coin issued by the New Zealand Mint of behalf of Niue Islands in 2018
Santosh Khanna has commented:
ReplyDelete"Nice collection".
Thank you, Khanna sahab. But because of pilferage at Mumbai Customs, we are not importing "Silver" coins . But my Collector friends all over the Globe and India send me references of their collections for me to write on. I do have a lot of Indian Silver coins in my collection though.
DeleteVikram Bhatnagar has commented:
ReplyDelete"Crisp and gripping narration!
Btw did you read the Reader's Digest Encyclopedia which ran into 10 volumes?"
No, I didn't Vikram. But, I have been researching this subject from quite a few online informative posts and a couple of story books in my personal library and old magazine articles from "Dharmyug" etc. which I have steadfastly refused to part with, despite Sumita having got rid of most of my reference books over the years. :-)
DeleteVikram Bhatnagar has further commented:
Delete"My sympathies at your battle; these "gems" of yore still hold tremendous valuable information and, in very user friendly words!"
Thanks for the sympathies, Vikram. I still go to the "Bargain Bookstore" in Phoenix Mall next to my house. The lady who owns the store, keeps a lot of these books for me. In a day when everyone reads on "Kindle" Apps, relaxing with a nice book, say on the history of "Healing Teas" is a common pastime for me.
DeleteGreeshm Sinha has commented:
ReplyDelete"Great description Rajeev. We have read the story in the past and retained randomly. This is beautiful recollection. Thanks."
Thank you so much for your encouraging comment, GK.
DeleteVinod Khurana has commented:
ReplyDelete"Informative article. Great."
Thank you, Vinodji.
DeleteSreekumar Rakshit has commented:
ReplyDelete"Thanks Rajeev, for your lucid summary of these events of which I had some vague ideas."
Thank you so much, Rakshit for your constant encouragement.
DeleteRihan Ahmad has commented:
ReplyDelete"I have become circumspect with all history written by the victors. But Rajeev.. damn cool job u r doing. Just do not depend entirely on Wikipedia ..as anyone can edit it."
Thanks, Rihan. Much appreciate.
DeleteRajiv Kudesia has commented:
ReplyDelete"Marathon kae yudh kae vishay Mae gyanvardhak jankari kae liyae aapko bahut bahut Dil sae aabhar Sir ji."
Thank you so much, Rajivji.
Delete