2044) The Gold of the Incas, Austria: "The Magic of Gold Coin Series" from the Mint of Austria: The Gold Coin Series of 100 Euro Gold Coins traces the mysterious nature of Gold in ancient cultures: Third Coin in the Series: Date/Year of Coin issue: 13.10.2021:
Since time immemorial, Gold has had a special effect on those who behold it. Shining seductively, rarely encountered and blessed with a comforting weight, the solidity of gold has a quality of its own. No other metal has as much symbolic meaning as Gold and no other concrete substance has been linked with so many abstract concepts, including heavenliness, immortality, purity and power.
The Austrian Mint has brought out the "Magic of Gold Coin Series", which features ancient art treasures and the mysterious nature of Gold in Ancient cultures where word ‘Gold’ is written on each of them in the respective script of the culture they explore: Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, the Incas, the Scythians, India and China.
All the coins are a reflection of ancient art treasures. What was made of gold in the past still is today and, as it has for thousands of years, gold still has a mysterious and magical power. This Coin Series, tells the story of the value of gold and the magical role it has played in advanced civilisations.
With the first coin in the Magic of Gold Coin Series we travelled back in time to Ancient Mesopotamia, ‘the land between two rivers’, the Tigris and the Euphrates. In Mesopotamian culture the ownership of Gold was associated with high standing and all Gold had to be handed over to the ruling classes and religious leaders. It was reserved for the powerful and the even more powerful – the gods. Mesopotamian Gold was mainly sourced from Egypt, where it was believed that the streets were paved with the precious metal.
The second Coin featured the "Gold of the Pharaohs" from Ancient Egypt. An aura of mystery surrounds The Gold of the Pharaohs, the second coin in The "Magic of Gold Coin Series", which traces the mysterious nature of gold in Ancient cultures. Made of pure gold, the ‘flesh of the gods’ and the symbol of eternity in Ancient Egypt, the coin features the death mask of the ‘boy king’, Tutankhamun.
More than 3,000 years old, the most celebrated of all the famous burial objects uncovered in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings is still casting its spell in the 21st century.
The third Coin depicts the allure of the "Gold of the Incas":
From the 13th to the 16th centuries, the Incas ruled over a huge, highly developed empire made up of hundreds of Andean tribes, the origins of which were derived from a sacred place, star or animal.
The official religion was the sun cult.
Temples dedicated to the sun were built throughout the realm, which at its peak stretched from Ecuador in the north to parts of Chile and western Argentina in the south.
The best known is the "Coricancha", which was located in Cusco in present-day Peru, the political, military and administrative centre of the Inca empire.
Unfortunately, the temple, and little else besides, did not survive the Spanish conquest of the late-sixteenth century, as the Spaniards were only after looting the Incan Gold & bothered even less about knowing anything about a very advanced culture .
The Tears of the Sun:
The Incas believed that gold was the Sun's tears and a representation of the sun's regenerative powers.
This clearly explains why gold had a purely spiritual meaning for the Incas and why they were such skilled goldsmiths. The smelting and crafting of gold were religious rituals for the Incas, who crafted incomparable works of art with the precious metal.
Their Sun Temples were decorated with gold, which is even believed to have adorned the walls, both exterior and interior.
Among the living, only the ruler was allowed to wear gold jewellery as proof that he was of divine birth – a descendent of the Sun God himself, no less.
The Commemorative Gold Coin:
On the Reverse of the 100 Euro Gold Coin is seen an Oréjon, a golden votive offering of an Inca nobleman, against an ornamental background. The figure’s distended earlobes are the result of the earpieces typically worn by the Incas.
The Obverse of the 100 Euro Gold Coin features a stylised lama in the centre, which is modelled on gold offerings.
Behind it stands an opening in a highly decorative wall, a reference to the Coricancha, the ‘Golden Temple’.
To the right is a deity with tears rolling down his cheeks.
A "Quipu", (or "Khipu" or a knot record), the system used by the Incas to communicate information and keep records, is shown on the bottom left.
The inscriptions on this face read - "REPUBLIK OSTERREICH" (on the upper periphery) and "100 EURO. 2021" (at left centre).
The specifications of the 100 Euro Gold Coin are:
Coin Series Theme: "The Magic of Gold Coin Series"; Coin Theme: "The Gold of the Pharaohs"; Denomination: 100 Euros; Metal Composition: .986 Fineness Gold (Au); Weight: 0.5 Oz or 15.78 grams; Diameter/Size: 30.0 mm; Thickness: 1.65 mm; Mint: Austrian Mint, Vienna; Maximum Mintage: 20,000; Year of Coin issue: 2021; Coin Quality: Proof; Presentation Case: Yes; Certificate of Authenticity (COA): Yes. The Coin is Guaranteed by the Austrian Mint; Coin Designers: Mag. Helmut Andexlinger, Herbert Wähner.
Each Proof Coin is presented in a Presentation Case, complete with a numbered Certificate of Authenticity (COA) and a protective slip-case.
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11) "An Land" (On The Land): A 10 Euro Coin: The second "Tri-material" Coin in the Series titled "Air Moves" - with an outer ring, inner core and an embossable polymer ring: Innovative coin issued by the Federal Republic of Germany in 2020
7) Michelangelo's "Pieta", Vatican City: New Copper Coin Series titled "Art and Faithy": A 10 Euro Copper Coin minted by the "Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca Dello Stato" (IPZS) on behalf of the "Ufficio Filatelico e Numismatico Governatorato della Cotta del Vaticano": Coin issue date: 05.03.2020
8) Ancient Postal Routes, Vatican City State: EUROPA 2020 Theme: Two stamps of 1.10 Euro and 1.15 Euro issued by the Ufficio filatelico e Numismatico -Governatorato, Vaticano featuring Ancient Postal Routes emanating from the Vatican City State during the 6th & 11th Centuries AD
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