Horses
USA - Delaware State Quarter


Obverse
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Reverse
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Coin Details

  

Set Details
Coin Description:
Grade: PCGS MS 66
Owner: brg5658
 
Set Category: Thematic & Topical Coins
Set Name: Horses
Slot Name: USA - Delaware State Quarter
Research: See NGC's Census Report for this Coin

Owner's Description

Purchased on eBay from a seller in Greece on 6/22/2011. The design of this coin has been described as two different things depending on source. Namely it has been described as a "Nymph on horseback" and "Selene (goddess of the moon) on horseback". I have included in my horse set this 1965 proof design (including the 20 DRX label on the horse side of the coin), and also a 1973 circulation issue 20 drachmai coin. The designs are slightly different, but I provide two "interpretations" of the design. SELENE was the Titan goddess of the moon. She was depicted as a woman either riding side saddle on a horse or in a chariot drawn by a pair of winged steeds. Her lunar sphere or crescent was represented as either a crown set upon her head or as the fold of a raised, shining cloak. Sometimes she was said to drive a team of oxen and her lunar crescent was likened to the horns of a bull. Selene's great love was the shepherd prince Endymion. The beautiful boy was granted eternal youth and immortality by Zeus and placed in a state of eternal slumber in a cave near the peak of Lydian Mount Latmos. There his heavenly bride descended to consort with him in the night. A number of other goddesses were also associated with the moon, however, only Selene was represented by the old Greek poets represented as the moon incarnate.

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