The Twelve Olympians in the Zodiac - Hermes & Cancer. Samoa 0.20 $ 2021 Gold plated Copper/Nickel coin

Face value: 0.2 $
Issuing country: Samoa
Weight: 25 g
Diameter: 40 mm

Scorpio is the second Mars sign, and the one that most relates to Ares: while the fiery aspects of Aries might relate to him to some extent, it’s the more emotional Scorpio that resonates closer to him and his primal nature. As the later Autumn sign, Scorpio is related to Winter’s start, and thus to sunset-like conditions: as the Sun dims, so does life. Scorpio is defined by it’s loyalty bordering on possessiveness, as well as a rather strong impulsive nature but consciously made subtle or even outright hidden. Ares displays a surprising amount of loyalty to his family, even when most of Olympus doesn’t like him very much, and while numerous, his affairs are occult, unlike Zeus’ or Apollo’s. This reflects water as darkness: driven by strong impulses, but with the element of mystery and hidden nature. Due to Scorpio’s vindictiveness and hidden nature, it is often considered the most malign of the signs, just as Ares is the most distrusted of the Olympians, but neither are “evil” and while unpleasant they are necessary for the inner workings of nature. Darkness is after all important to health in it’s Melatonin friendliness, especially when it’s connected to water.

Face value: 0.2 $
Issuing country: Samoa
Weight: 25 g
Diameter: 40 mm

Hephaestus‘ correspondence with Libra is derived from his role as the smith god. By crafting fire, he made the weapons that the gods use to impose justice, down to the scales of Dike, the goddess of justice, often thought to be the woman depicted in the sign. As just, Hephaestus is a god of innovation, taming the chaos of the flames to produce items to impose civilization.

Face Value: 2 cedis
Issuing Country: Ghana
Weight 1/2 oz
Silver: 999
Diameter 40 mm
Quality: proof
Year Date: 2022
Mintage: 1 000

Face value: 5 €
Diameter: 34 mm
Weight: 19.1 g
Metal: Brass
Mintage: 35,000

3. coin from the series “Fauna and Flora of Slovakia”.

Obverse:
The obverse of this euro collector coin shows a Tatra chamois standing on a rock on which several edelweiss flowers, protected under Slovak law, are growing. The name of the issuing country ‘SLOVENSKO’ appears in the lower right of the design, above the Slovak coat of arms and, to the right of it, the year of issuance ‘2022’. The denomination and currency ‘5 euro’ are inscribed in the upper part. Next to the left edge are the mint mark of the Kremnica Mint (Mincovňa Kremnica), consisting of the letters ‘MK’ placed between two dies, and the stylised letters ‘KL’, referring to the coin’s designer Karol Ličko.

Reverse:
The reverse features the head and upper body of a Tatra chamois, with the head bisecting the background depiction of a rocky mountain range. The Slovak and scientific names of the chamois are each inscribed on three lines, with ‘KAMZÍK VRCHOVSKÝ TATRANSKÝ’ appearing to the left of the chamois and ‘RUPICAPRA RUPICAPRA TATRICA’ to the right.

Just as the Tatras are a symbol of Slovakia, so the chamois is a symbol of the Tatras. The Tatra mountain ranges are among the world’s smallest alpine ranges and are evidently suitable places for a creature as remarkable as the chamois to live in safety. It is not by chance that the Tatra national parks of both Slovakia and Poland feature the chamois in their logos. The Tatras’ deep valleys, rocky ridges, sharp peaks and mountain lakes have been the cradle and grave of chamois for millennia. The Tatra chamois is one of a few living links to the last ice age, its population being what experts call a ‘glacial relict’. The chamois live in herds with a social way of life. Some herds comprise more than 50 individuals. The total population of chamois on the Slovak and Polish sides of the Tatras currently numbers around 1,400. The Tatra chamois, or Rupicapra rupicapra tatrica, was classified as a separate subspecies in 1971 (by Milič Blahout). In Slovakia, pure Tatra chamois are found only in the High Tatras, Western Tatras and Belianske Tatras. The chamois are a cultural treasure, a symbol of both the Tatras and Slovakia as a whole. It is of the utmost importance to keep their Tatra habitats as undisturbed as possible and to behave responsibly and respectfully when present there.

Quality: Special Uncirculated
Face Value: 5 Euro
Diameter: 28,5 mm
Copper: 99,9%
Total Weight: 8,5 g
Mintage: 50 000
Comes without packaging

Why talk when you can dance instead? That’s how bees communicate. Their ‘waggle dance’ is a wonderful phenomenon and one that not only bees themselves benefit from. Other living creatures, including humans, do so too, because bees are a vital part of our ecosystem: their welfare is our welfare.

In the early 20th century, the unusual behaviour of honeybees piqued the curiosity of behavioural scientist Karl von Frisch (1886–1982), who grew up in Vienna. He was intrigued by the way the insects sometimes move in circles and perform a figure of-eight ‘waggle dance’. In time, von Frisch discovered that when doing so, bees are in fact ‘speaking’ a dance language to the other members of their hive to show them where they can find pollen and nectar. Although originally disputed by other scientists, von Frisch’s theory eventually earned him the Nobel Prize in 1973.

The ‘round dance’, in which bees walks in a circle, turn around, then walk the same circle in the opposite direction, tells watching bees that there are flowers with pollen in the immediate vicinity of the hive. When the food source is further away, the waggle dance tells the watching bees how far it is and in which direction they can find it. A representation of the waggle dance is shown in the background on the coin’s reverse, behind a bee in flight and above a decorative honeycomb deign. The obverse of the nine-sided coin shows the coats of arms of all the provinces of Austria. Not just for nature lovers, whether in copper or silver, Waggle Dance makes for a great spring or Easter gift.
In the early 20th century, the unusual behavior of honey bees piqued the curiosity of behavioral scientist Karl von Frisch (1886–1982), who grew up in Vienna. He was intrigued by the way the insects sometimes move in circles and perform a figure-of-eight ‘waggle dance’. In time, von Frisch discovered that when doing so, bees are in fact ‘speaking’ a dance language to the other members of their hive to show them where they can find pollen and nectar. Although originally disputed by other scientists, von Frisch’s theory eventually earned him the Nobel Prize in 1973 for achievements in comparative behavioural physiology and pioneering work in communication between insects. It is not just bees themselves that benefit from this wonderful phenomenon, as other living creatures, including humans, do so too. Honey bees, wild bees and bumble bees are a vital part of the ecosystem: their welfare is our welfare.

Materiall: CuNi
Weight: 9g
Diameter: 26,9 mm
Mintage: 100 000


The German government has decided to mint a €5 collectors’ coin entitled “Great green bush-cricket", to be issed at 7 March 2024. It is the sixth coin issued as part of the “Wonderful world of insects” series, which will see a total of nine coins with partially coloured motifs issued over the period 2022-24. The series is intended to bring into focus – especially in light of current developments (insect extinction) – a special group of animals that make up a significant part of our natural heritage.

The coin motif, designed by the artist Detlef Behr from Cologne, shows an ideal male stag beetle in the style of a precise scientific illustration, in which all morphological details are correctly worked out. The typical black-brown coloring shows the beetle and its characteristic feature, the enlarged upper jaw (Mandibles), effectively emphasized. Idealized oak leaves and acorns in the background provide a subtle reference to the beetle's habitat and allude to the great importance of oak trees for the development of the larvae. The sans-serif lettering on the left edge of the coin forms a part of the composition balanced counterweight to the motif. The value side is identical for all coins in the series. The design, designed by artist Andre Witting from Berlin, impresses with a dignified yet dynamic representation of the federal eagle.

Astrology is a discipline that attracts a wide audience thanks to its playful and accessible nature. It touches everyone in an intimate way and creates a sense of belonging by focusing on personality traits. Moreover, its aesthetic symbolism offers rich visual elements that can be an inexhaustible source of inspiration for artists. Astrological signs appear to be an obvious theme to explore for Monnaie de Paris, which therefore affirms its desire to appeal to as many people as possible, while allowing the talents of its craftsmen to express themselves.

A set contain the 12 €5 bicolor coins.