A couple days ago we saw a lion coin dedicated to Henry the Lion so I figured to show you another lion today.
Well, not exactly a lion but close enough!
This weird creature is actually a griffin, a legendary beast with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion, and the head and wings of an eagle with its talons on the front legs.
A fitting icon for a silver coin, considering griffins were thought to be protectors of treasures amongst other things
Because the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts, and the eagle the king of the birds, by the Middle Ages, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. Since classical antiquity, griffins were known for guarding treasures and priceless possessions source and more info
However, in this case the griffin was chosen as an icon for this coin because it is a commemorative 1979, 5 mark coin for the 150th Anniversary German Archaeological Institute established in 1832 by Eduard Gerhard
The German Archaeological Institute (German: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, DAI) is a research institute in the field of archaeology (and other related fields). The DAI is a "federal agency" under the Federal Foreign Office of Germany. source and more info
The coin on this side reads "150 JAHRE DEUTSCHES ARCHÄOLOGISCHES INSTITUT 1829-1979" for "150 Years German Archaeology Institute 1829-1979"
Not surprisingly, the logo of the institute features a griffin as well
If we flip the coin we have as expected a unique design of the imperial chicken eagle.
I really like this one :)
As for the lettering we have
BUNDESREPUBLIK
DEUTSCHLAND
5 DEUTSCHE MARK
For
FEDERAL REPUBLIC
GERMANY
5 GERMAN MARKS
And finally we have the engraved edge...
It reads
MONUMENTIS AC LITTERIS
This is a Latin motto that means "For the monuments and the written traditions." It was first used first by the German Archaeological Institute in 1829 and since then many other similar organizations and institutions have adopted it.
Ok, when it comes to symbolisms and stuff I think I have covered the basics of the coin. As always, feel free to visit any of the links above for more thorough information!
When it comes to silver this piece has a purity of .625 with a total weight of 11.2 g. That's exactly 7 g of pure silver, with the rest being copper.
As you probably know if you pay attention to my posts, I love animal themed coins, so naturally I love this coin. 🦁🦅🥰
It's a pity it's only a 5 and not a 10 mark which would result in almost double the weight.. Oh well, nobody's perfect!
Ok plebs! This is it for today! Time to put this baby back to its capsule and say goodbye!
See you soon with more silver!
Fun Silver Posts
Enjoyed the post? Here is some more fun silver/monetary content I have written in the past that you might enjoy:
- The country that uses plastic coins!
- The bizarre coins of Cook Islands
- Infographic: What Type of Silver Whale are you?
- My silver pocket piece
- My favorite piece from the stack
- The 10 Million Dollar Coin
- This is where gold really comes from!
- That's one big nugget!
- The Ten Thousand Dollar Bill ?!?!
- Biggest Gold Coin Ever