Spartacus—Slave Revolt, Great Commanders series, Niue 2017, 5 Dollars, 2 oz, 45 mm, antique finish ultra high relief (3 mm) coin, red gold plated, client: Mint of Gdansk, producer: Mint of Poland.
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The coin premiere: World Money Fair in Berlin, 2.—4. feb. 2018.
Spartacus is the famous leader of the largest slave uprising against the Roman Impire. The reverse of the coin depicts a dynamic scene with Spartacus sitting on a climbing horse and attacking Roman legionaries. The biggest challenge for me was to draw, as accurately as possible, the weapons and equipment of the gladiators and Roman soldiers. I have done a lot of historical research…
When I was drawing Spartacus, I knew it was the first project in the battle scenes series. So I had an idea to crate a timeline effect throughout the Great Commanders series. The first coin, Spartacus, depicts the scene where troops have not yet clashed. The second coin should show the moment just before the clash, while the third — the moment when the fight begins. And the fourth coin? Hard to imagine.
On the obverse: a map of the Spartacus revolt with places of major battles.
About my Spartacus:
“There are some rose-gold highlights (…), but in other respects the success of this coin rests exactly where it should—on the design.”
“Apart from the name ‘SPARTACUS’, the coin is free of intrusion.”
“The obverse is particularly noteworthy and follows this mints trend of not just filling this face with the obligatory effigy of Queen Elizabeth II (…), but of incorporating it into a custom design. This one is superb, depicting the route taken by Spartacus on his Italian package holiday covering all the best slaughtering resorts. A very impressive and imaginative use of space normally filled with little consideration to the reverse face.”
AgAuNews
Coin close-up view: Mint of Gdansk YouTube
