Tuesday, 16 March 2021

1746) The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Niue Island: "The Black Horse" (A symbol of "Famine"): The Third Coin issued by the Mint of Poland depicts the Rider of the Black Horse: Year of Coin issue: 2020:

 1746) The Four Horsemen of  the    Apocalypse, Niue Island:   "The Black  Horse"   (A    symbol of "Famine"): The Third Coin issued by  the   Mint of Poland depicts the Rider of the Black Horse: Year of Coin issue: 2020:

THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPE:

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are described in the last book of the New Testament of the Bible, called the "Book of Revelation of Jesus Christ to John of Patmos," at 6:1-8. 

The chapter tells of a book or scroll in God’s right hand that is sealed with seven seals.

 The Lamb of God opens the first four of the seven seals, which summons four beings that ride out on white, red, black, and pale horses.

In John's revelation, the first horseman is on a white horse, carrying a bow, and given a crown, riding forward as a figure of "Conquest, perhaps invoking Pestilence, Christ, or the Antichrist". 

The second horseman carries a sword and rides a red horse and is the "Creator of War".

 The third horseman is a food merchant riding upon a black horse, symbolizing "Famine".

 The fourth and final horse is pale green, and upon it rides Death accompanied by Hades.

 "They were given authority over a quarter of the earth, to kill with sword, famine, and plague, and by means of the beasts of the earth."

The Christian apocalyptic vision is that the Four Horsemen are to set a divine end time upon the world as harbingers of the Last Judgment.

Though theologians and popular culture differ on the first Horseman, the four riders are often seen as symbolizing "Conquest or Pestilence" (and less frequently, the Christ or the Antichrist), "War", "Famine," and "Death". 

One view ties the Four Horsemen to the history of the Roman Empire subsequent to the era in which the Book of Revelation was written. That is, they are a symbolic prophecy of the subsequent history of the Empire.

The Black Horse:

The Rider of the Third Horse (or the "Black Horse") represents "Famine" as depicted in a thirteenth-century Apocalypse manuscript.

He is popularly understood to be Famine as the Horseman carries a pair of balances or weighing scales, indicating the way that bread would have been weighed during a famine. 

Other authors interpret the third Horseman as the “Lord as a Law-Giver” holding Scales of Justice.

 In the passage, it is read that the indicated price of grain is about ten times normal (thus the famine interpretation popularity), with an entire day’s wages (a denarius) buying enough wheat for only one person, or enough of the less nutritious barley for three, so that workers would struggle to feed their families.

Of the Four Horsemen, the Black Horse and its rider are the only ones whose appearance is accompanied by a vocal pronunciation. 

John hears a voice, unidentified but coming from among the four living creatures, that speaks of the prices of wheat and barley, also saying “and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine”. 

This suggests that the Black Horse’s Famine is to drive up the price of grain but leave oil and wine supplies unaffected (though out of reach of the ordinary worker). One explanation for this is that grain crops would have been more naturally susceptible to famine years or locust plagues than olive trees and grapevines, which root more deeply.

The statement might also suggest a continuing abundance of luxuries for the wealthy while staples, such as bread, are scarce, though not totally depleted; such selective scarcity may result from injustice and the deliberate production of luxury crops for the wealthy over grain, as would have happened during the time Revelation was written. 

Alternatively, the preservation of oil and wine could symbolize the preservation of the Christian faithful, who used oil and wine in their sacraments.

The Silver Coin:


The Reverse of the $5 (Five Dollars) Silver Coin  depicts the  third horseman who is on a Black Horse, carrying the "Scales of Justice" signifying "Famine". The Header/banner shows the Reverse of the Silver Coin placed against a background representation of parched Earth/Soil.
 
                  

                         
              
The inscriptions are - "FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE" (on the upper periphery) and "BLACK HORSE" (on the lower periphery).

The Obverse of the $5 (Five Dollars) Silver coin  depicts the four horsemen at left.

At right is seen as effigy of Queen Elizabeth II facing right designed by Ian Rank-Broadley, whose initials "IRB" appear below the Queen's neck.

The peripheral inscriptions are - "ELIZABETH II. 5 DOLLARS. 2020. NIUE".


 The specifications of this Coin are:

Country of issue: Niue Island; Year: 2020; Denomination/Face Value: $5 (Five Dollars); Metal Composition: .999 Fineness Silver (Ag); Weight: 2.0 Oz or 62.218 grams; Diameter/Size: 45.0 mm; Edge: Smooth with Serial number; Coin Quality: Antique Finish; Mintage: 500 pieces; Special Technique: Artwork on both faces, High Relief - 2.7 mm; Presentation Box/Case: Yes; Certificate of Authenticity (COA): Yes.

Remarks: Each coin is packed in a beautiful wood case with a colorful graphic dust jacket and has a numbered Certificate Of Authenticity (COA) from the Mint of Poland, with matching serial number etched on rim of the coin.

Later issue in the Coin Series:


Pale Horse (2021)


Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, an 1887 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov. From left to right are Death, Famine, War, and Conquest; the Lamb is at the top.




































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Star Dreaming Coin Series:





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Links to posts on issues from the Republic of Palau:


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The 7-Summits Silver Coin Series:

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The 7-Summits Silver Coin Series:

Links:

1) Caves of Slovak Karst in Slovakia: A World Natural Heritage UNESCO Site: A Gold Coin of 100 Euros issued under the "World Natural Heritage" Series by the National Bank odf Slovakia, minted by the Kremnica Mint on 15.11.2017

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