1881) Princess Libuše, Niue Island: : A 500 NZD (New Zealand Dollars) Gold Bullion Coin minted by Ceska Mincova (Czech Mint) on behalf of Niue Island: Year of Coin issue: 2021:
About Princess Libuše:
Princess Libuše is one of the most famous figures in Czech mythology.
Krok, the mythical duke of the Czechs, was a respected, ingenious and prudent man. People from all over the country came to him to refer their cases to him, for him to pass his judgement on their disputes.
He had three daughters: the eldest Kazi, a sorceress and healer, the middle one was Teta, a priestess who could converse with ghosts, and the youngest one was Libuše, a clairvoyant soothsayer whom the people chose to head after Krok's death.
Like her father, she fairly judged quarrels and disagreements among the people, but there were the ones who did not like her position.
The taunts of the angry elders would go like this - "Long Hair, Short Reason!" and "Shame on the men who are ruled by a woman!" and so on.
Although the princess was strong and could punish her critics, in her wisdom, she decided to step down and said: “I am a woman and behave like a woman; If I do not judge you with an iron rod, it seems to you that I understand little. You need to have someone rule over you who can hand out severe judgments!”
Accordingly, she found their new ruler, the legendary "Přemysl the Ploughman," who became the founder of the powerful Přemyslid dynasty along Libuše's side…
About Přemysl the Ploughman:
He was the legendary husband of Libuše, and ancestor of the Přemyslid dynasty, containing the line of princes (dukes) and kings which ruled in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown from 873 or earlier until the murder of Wenceslaus III in 1306.
According to a legend, Přemysl was a free peasant of the village of Stadice who attracted the notice of Libuše, who ruled over a large part of Bohemia.
Libuše's councillors demanded that she marry, but because Přemysl was not a nobleman she recounted a vision in which they would follow a horse let loose at a junction, and follow it to find her future husband, making it appear as if it was the will of fate not her own wish.
Two versions of the legend exist, one in where they are to find a man ploughing a field with one broken sandal, and another in which the man would be sitting in the shade of a single tree, eating from an iron table (his plough). They did so and found Přemysl exactly as foretold.
Přemysl married Libuše, the traditional foundress of Prague, and became prince of the Bohemian Czechs.
However, according to the legends, because they found him before he had finished ploughing the field, famine was anticipated for the land and did actually come about.
He was also said to have planted his hazel-wood staff in the ground before he left, which then grew three sprouts, two of which died but the third continued to grow; this was an omen that his first two sons with Libuše, Radobyl and Lidomir, would die, but their third son, Nezamysl would live and continue the Přemyslid dynasty.
Legend has it that the staff continued to grow, and the inhabitants of the neighbouring town were given a grant exempting them from taxes, except for a pint of hazel nuts each year, a tradition which continued into the reign of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, from whom Pope Pius II claimed to have seen a charter renewing the exemption.
He was also said to have removed his peasant's bast shoes before donning the royal robe when he was discovered, and ordered the councillors to bring the shoes with them and keep them as a reminder to the people that a peasant had risen to the highest rank, and to his successors to be humble, remember their origin, and defend the peasantry.
The custom of exhibiting a pair of bast shoes at the coronation of the kings of Bohemia was said to have continued throughout the Přemyslid dynasty.
The Přemyslid dynasty became history, when Wenceslaus III died and left no male heir, but through females the title to Bohemia passed from the Přemyslids to the Luxembourgs and later to the houses of Jagiello, Habsburg and Habsburg-Lorraine.
The Gold Bullion Coin:
Princess Libuše is the motif of this large gold coin of the Czech Mint weighing a ten-ducat.
The Reverse side of the 500 NZD Gold Bullion Coin, presents Princess Libuše in a moment of clairvoyant ecstasy.
During the prophetic ritual, a 'higher state of consciousness' was induced by various substances, which were heated and distributed in a circle around the prophetic person. This fact inspired the composition of both sides of the coin.
The legend, according to which Libuše predicted the construction of a famous city, is also commemorated by an inscription on the reverse side: "MĚSTO VIDÍM VELIKÉ, JEHOŽ SLÁVA HVĚZD SE BUDE DOTÝKAT" (I SEE THE GREAT CITY THE GLORY OF WHICH WILL TOUCH THE STARS).
On the Obverse of the 500 NZD Gold Bullion Coin there is a prophetic circle, from which four columns of smoke rise, which merge in the vision of the future city of Prague.
In the center of the circle there are symbols that relate to Princess Libuše as the ruler, who "justly decides when it is time to change swords into plows or vice versa."
As the coins of the Czech Mint are licensed by the foreign issuer, the Island of Niue, their Obverse side also bears the name and effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, the denominational value of "500 DOLLARS (NZD)" and the country of issue "Niue Island" and the year of issue "2021".
The specifications of this Coin are:
Country of issue: Niue Island; Year: 2021; Denomination/Face Value: $500 (Five Hundred Dollars - NZD); Metal Composition: .9999 Fineness Gold (Au); Weight: 348.5 grams - the weight of 10 Ducats; Diameter/Size: 65.0 mm; Coin Quality: Bullion; Mintage: 50 pieces; Presentation Box/Case: Yes, Dark Wooden Case; Certificate of Authenticity (COA): Yes; Designer: (Obverse & Reverse): MgA. Josef Oplištil; Capsule: Yes.
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Santosh Khanna has commented:
ReplyDelete"Gr8 information. Keep it up."
Thank you, Khanna sahab.
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