Owner Comments:
My October Coin of the Month (Volume 1 Number 2) is a 1988 Vatican City 50 Lira coin commemorating the Creation of Eve.
This months coin of the month comes by the way of The BRG Collection and it is because of his E-Bay listing tip and recommendation that I currently own this coin. One of many things I like about Collectors Society is when any one of its members spots a coin that may fit in another members collection that they will often notify that member of the buying opportunity. I have done this in the past for other collectors, just as they have done it for me.
There are times when my coin collecting interests intersect with my Christian faith, and this coin represents one of those times in its depiction of the creation of Eve. The NGC MS-67 1988 Vatican City 50 Lira coin (Y#208) is struck in stainless steel, weighs 6.2 grams, and is 24.8 mm in diameter. The obverse of this coin features a bust Pope John Paul II, with the Roman Numerals X MCMLXXXVIII to represent the tenth year of Pope John Paul IIs papacy in 1988. The name of the coins engraver is Guido Veroi, and his name appears just below Pope John Pauls bust. The reverse features a large portrait of God as a bearded man breathing into Eve the breath of life. Eve appears to be coming forth out of the womb of Adam as he sleeps with her arms raised in worship to God, and her body enveloped with the breath of life. Additionally, there is an R mintmark on the reverse to the left of the coins L. 50 face value, representing that the coin was minted in Rome. Unfortunately, I was unable to find this coins mintage.
When The BRG Collection recommended this coin to me, he did so thinking it would be a good coin for my Inspirational Ladies custom set. At first, I was hesitant to add this coin to my set because this set is a positive, non-sexist portrayal of inspirational women and allegorical virtues. This coin, however, albeit Biblical, portrays Eve as a naked woman. After a few back and forth e-mails with The BRG Collection, I decided to buy the coin anyway and figure out later how to integrate it into my collection. After all this coin IS an accurate, yet tactfully done, representation of the Genesis account of creation. Furthermore, although I am not a Catholic, this coin does come from Vatican City.
Left with the problem of how to integrate this coin into my collection, I read the Genesis account of creation from the Bible for a little inspiration on how best to present this coin. According to Genesis, this started when there was no companion in all of creation compatible to Adam, causing God to declare, it is not good for man to be alone. Next, I thought of the inspiration Adam must have felt when he got up and saw his wife for the first time! Then it came to me, since Eve is the first wife of the first marriage, I have fittingly dedicated my coin to the countless number of wives who throughout human history have been great inspirations to their husbands.
The Holy Bible in Genesis 2:18-25 states: Then the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him. Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, this at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man. Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.