Georgian creatives design Lithuanian Mint-issued coin featuring Colchis legend
Reflecting the ancient legend by Homer, the 500-mintage coin was designed with efforts involving Georgian creatives and is part of Lithuanian Mint's series 'Myths of Love'. Photos: Lithuanian Mint.
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A collector coin bearing the portrait of Medea, a princess of the ancient Colchis Kingdom on the Black Sea coast and a major protagonist of the Greek legend of the Argonauts, will be released next month by Lithuanian Mint after being designed by Georgian creatives.
Featuring colourful elements and intricate details, the two-dollar silver coin of antique finish will have a run of 500 units on its release, and will be issued as part of Lithuanian Mint's 'Myths of Love' series that launched recently to produce designs under the theme.
Entitled 'Medea and the Golden Fleece' - reflecting the 8th century BCE Greek mythology tale of heroism and romance - the item is the outcome of a project led by Georgian designer Iva Janezashvili, who works on commissions for the Lithuanian-based company.
Nearly everyone has heard at least one Greek mythical story - one of the oldest is about Jason and the Argonauts. [Our new coin] is called 'Medea and the Golden Fleece', and it is dedicated to the feelings without which Medea and Jason's love could not exist: tenderness, courage, and devotion
- Lithuanian Mint
The team led by Janezashvili on the project also involved Georgian painter Kakhaber Topchishvili, who created illustrations for the coin. Janezashvili said the collector item featured deep relief shapes for illustrated figures and gold coating for coloured sections, as well as green-tinted Swarowski crystals finishing the look.
The theme for the coin's visuals comes from the iconic story of Jason, who embarked on a journey to the Kingdom of Colchis to capture the Golden Fleece, held in the ancient Black Sea polity, after a request by King Pelias of Iolcus, an ancient Greek city.
Seen as the path to confirmation of Jason's rightful claim for the throne, the mission for the capture of the Golden Fleece led Jason and his band of Argonauts to the Black Sea coastline kingdom, where the help from Medea, the daughter of King Aeëtes, used her magic to help Jason in the quest and even save his life.
The romance between the two protagonists later saw Medea leave her native kingdom and marry Jason before settling with the Greek hero in Corinth. A subsequent dramatic development of the plot by a 5th century BCE play by Euripides then sees Medea being abandoned by her husband in favour of King Creon's daughter, before the Colchis princess takes her revenge on both of them.
Visual elements representing the story appear throughout the modern Georgian heraldry, including municipalities in the west of the country that was the territory of the historical Colchis. In 2019 a former MP of the Georgian parliament, a professor of ancient history, constructed a sailboat inspired by the legend of the Argonauts.
Lithuanian Mint has made the 'Medea and the Golden Fleece' coin available for pre-orders through the company website.
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