2020 - Niue 2 NZD Silver Coin Mythical Creatures - Phoenix - Proof

Mythical Creatures

The Czech Mint introduced Phoenix on the second silver coin from the collector´s cycle entitled Mythical Creatures.

“In fact, I have not seen any, I have only seen its artistic representation. It resembles an eagle due to its size. Its feathers are mostly gold, but red to purple predominate, ” described the Greek historian Herodotus the animal of Egypt in the 5th century BC. The Father of History spoke of a creature named Bennu that was born of himself. Bennu represented the immortal soul of the god Re and symbolized the eternal cycle of rebirth - whether in the form of a regular flood of the Nile or a pilgrimage of the Sun across the sky. In Greece, the creature was called Phoenix - literally "red-purple bird". It was said it will burn itself to death every five centuries in order to rise from the ashes in full force.

Medal maker Mária Filová, DiS., gave the burning phoenix features of several birds - beak and claws of the eagle, swan neck and peacock's tail. The creature is accompanied by an English inscription PHOENIX. The coin does not have a classic coin frame, however, the relief is surrounded by decorative ornaments that pervade the entire collector´s cycle. Since the Czech Mint coins are issued with a foreign license of the island of Niue, the obverse side bears the profile and the name of Queen Elizabeth II, the nominal value of 2 DOLLARS (NZD) and the year of the issue 2020.

The Czech Mint offers a collector's book where you can store all twelve silver coins from the cycle Mythical Creatures.