The Twelve Olympians in the Zodiac - Hera & Aquarius Samoa 0.20 $ 2022 Gold plated Copper/Nickel coin

Face value: 5 $
Issuing country: Samoa
Weight: 62,2 g
Quality: Antiqefinish
Diameter: 45 mm
Mintage: 999

The second release in an interesting, thought provoking new series, this coin depicts the Greek Goddess, Aphrodite.

A twelve issue set, the Twelve Olympians of the Zodiac considers which of the traditional star signs coincide with the Gods of Olympus of Ancient Greece. For Aphrodite it is easy, for she is also known as the Roman goddess Venus, and Venus is the planetary ruler of Taurus!

According to some astrologists, those born under the sign of Taurus love pleasure! They know how to enjoy life, and are sure to make the most of every moment - just like the Goddess Aphrodite!

Face value: 0.2 $
Issuing country: Samoa
Weight: 25 g
Diameter: 40 mm

Face value: 0.2 $
Issuing country: Samoa
Weight: 25 g
Diameter: 40 mm

Scorpio is the second Mars sign, and the one that most relates to Ares: while the fiery aspects of Aries might relate to him to some extent, it’s the more emotional Scorpio that resonates closer to him and his primal nature. As the later Autumn sign, Scorpio is related to Winter’s start, and thus to sunset-like conditions: as the Sun dims, so does life. Scorpio is defined by it’s loyalty bordering on possessiveness, as well as a rather strong impulsive nature but consciously made subtle or even outright hidden. Ares displays a surprising amount of loyalty to his family, even when most of Olympus doesn’t like him very much, and while numerous, his affairs are occult, unlike Zeus’ or Apollo’s. This reflects water as darkness: driven by strong impulses, but with the element of mystery and hidden nature. Due to Scorpio’s vindictiveness and hidden nature, it is often considered the most malign of the signs, just as Ares is the most distrusted of the Olympians, but neither are “evil” and while unpleasant they are necessary for the inner workings of nature. Darkness is after all important to health in it’s Melatonin friendliness, especially when it’s connected to water.

Face value: 0.2 $
Issuing country: Samoa
Weight: 25 g
Diameter: 40 mm

Artemis still remains intrinsic to the Sagittarius sign to this day: after all, who among the Olympians is the archer goddess, associated with the forests and the primeval might of the centaur? Like her brother Apollo, Artemis is a goddess of fiery arrows, illuminating the darkness and destroying those who offend her, and her role in this department might even be more relevant than her brother's. Sagittarius is also the first sign of the night as the beginning of the winter, relating to Artemis' intrinsic nature as a goddess of moonlight. The association of Sagittarius with Artemis also relates to her cult's rivalry with primitive Christianity: Sagittarius is the sign of truth and knowledge, and Artemis is the light bearer.

Face value: 0.2 $
Issuing country: Samoa
Weight: 25 g
Diameter: 40 mm

Hephaestus‘ correspondence with Libra is derived from his role as the smith god. By crafting fire, he made the weapons that the gods use to impose justice, down to the scales of Dike, the goddess of justice, often thought to be the woman depicted in the sign. As just, Hephaestus is a god of innovation, taming the chaos of the flames to produce items to impose civilization.

Face value: 0.2 $
Issuing country: Samoa
Weight: 25 g
Diameter: 40 mm
Mintage: 3000

Face value: 0.2 $
Issuing country: Samoa
Weight: 25 g
Diameter: 40 mm

Hestia's main sign if Capricorn, which stresses her more subtle but relevant nature. Capricorn, like Sagittarius, also stresses order, stability and stoicness. More so, it takes theses traits further and is a sign associated with practicality, hard work, strong will and stubbornness. Hestia, as the perpetual tender of the flames, is definitely a very hard working and practical goddess, and while I by no means would refer to her as “stubborn”, she does have a strong will in what little myths she appears in. Capricorn is also relevant in it’s role in the Zodiac. It’s the sign that covers the Winter Solstice, when the Sun is at it’s lowest, being opposite to Cancer. Thus, not only does it coincide with the time of the year where Hestia’s influence is most important, as well as to her role as the center, it also coincides with a liminal time in the Zodiac, when the Sun is reborn.

Face value: 0.2 $
Issuing country: Samoa
Weight: 25 g
Diameter: 40 mm

Poseidon, as the god of water and of the sea, is the lord of sea creatures, so the sign of the pair of fish is more than appropriate. Pisces, however, also dives deeper in Poseidon’s realm. For starters, it is associated with the feet, and Poseidon is also a god of the earth, of tremors and geological processes, closely tied to water eroding rocks. The sea is also considered to be where the pillars of the universe are located in most western Eurasian religions, and in Greek thought Poseidon’s realm extends even to the Underworld, where the four rivers run, a connection particularly important in the more chthonic versions of Hellenic religion. If Cancer is the Moon and it’s spiritual essence while Scorpio is blood and the impulses, with Aquarius also representing sky waters, Pisces is simply the pure nature of water as an element, symbolizing the immensity of the seas and the many freshwater bodies. It’s the sign of mutability and change, resonating with water’s classical attribute as well as the very real quick and natural changes into ice, liquid, gas or cloud and also the currents. It also symbolizes Spring waters, be them from rains or melting snow and ice, feeding the fields and civilization, acting as water changing the surrounding environment.

Face value: 0.2 $
Issuing country: Samoa
Weight: 25 g
Diameter: 40 mm

As the King of the gods, Zeus‘ connection with Leo is appropriate as it is the "king of the Zodiac signs". The connection gains a lot more weight in mythology: Zeus is closely associated with Helios, perhaps even more so than Apollo, as Helios is referred as "the eye of Zeus" and is referred as Zeus in his own Orphic hymn. Aether (the primordial light that illumines the Heavens) is "Zeus' power", and his role as the god of civilization, justice and law is very similar to that of sun gods like Shamash and Ra (Apollo also shares these traits, as he too is a god of justice and law). Zeus is outright referred as the Sun in some particular Greco-roman religious traditions like Pythagorean philosophy, where he is the supramundane Sun of the Olympians.As the Sun symbolizes the center, so is Leo's position in the Zodiac indicative.

Issuing Country: Solomon Islands
Weight: 1/200 oz
Gold: .9999
Diameter: 15.2 x 8.6mm
Quality: Proof like
Mintage: 10 000

In western astrology, twelve zodiac and ascendant signs symbolise the cosmic power of the stars and their influence on life. A timeless tribute is now being paid to them with these valuable Gold bars!

Astronomy in its finest form – available in single blister!

Face Value: 2 cedis
Issuing Country: Ghana
Weight 1/2 oz
Silver: 999
Diameter 40 mm
Quality: proof
Year Date: 2022
Mintage: 1 000

Quality: Special Uncirculated
Face Value: 5 Euro
Diameter: 28,5 mm
Copper: 99,9%
Total Weight: 8,5 g
Mintage: 50 000
Comes without packaging

Why talk when you can dance instead? That’s how bees communicate. Their ‘waggle dance’ is a wonderful phenomenon and one that not only bees themselves benefit from. Other living creatures, including humans, do so too, because bees are a vital part of our ecosystem: their welfare is our welfare.

In the early 20th century, the unusual behaviour of honeybees piqued the curiosity of behavioural scientist Karl von Frisch (1886–1982), who grew up in Vienna. He was intrigued by the way the insects sometimes move in circles and perform a figure of-eight ‘waggle dance’. In time, von Frisch discovered that when doing so, bees are in fact ‘speaking’ a dance language to the other members of their hive to show them where they can find pollen and nectar. Although originally disputed by other scientists, von Frisch’s theory eventually earned him the Nobel Prize in 1973.

The ‘round dance’, in which bees walks in a circle, turn around, then walk the same circle in the opposite direction, tells watching bees that there are flowers with pollen in the immediate vicinity of the hive. When the food source is further away, the waggle dance tells the watching bees how far it is and in which direction they can find it. A representation of the waggle dance is shown in the background on the coin’s reverse, behind a bee in flight and above a decorative honeycomb deign. The obverse of the nine-sided coin shows the coats of arms of all the provinces of Austria. Not just for nature lovers, whether in copper or silver, Waggle Dance makes for a great spring or Easter gift.
In the early 20th century, the unusual behavior of honey bees piqued the curiosity of behavioral scientist Karl von Frisch (1886–1982), who grew up in Vienna. He was intrigued by the way the insects sometimes move in circles and perform a figure-of-eight ‘waggle dance’. In time, von Frisch discovered that when doing so, bees are in fact ‘speaking’ a dance language to the other members of their hive to show them where they can find pollen and nectar. Although originally disputed by other scientists, von Frisch’s theory eventually earned him the Nobel Prize in 1973 for achievements in comparative behavioural physiology and pioneering work in communication between insects. It is not just bees themselves that benefit from this wonderful phenomenon, as other living creatures, including humans, do so too. Honey bees, wild bees and bumble bees are a vital part of the ecosystem: their welfare is our welfare.

Face value: Samoa 0,25$
Weight: 47 gr
Diameter: 40 mm
Mintage: 3 000

The tawny owl (Strix aluco), also called the brown owl, is commonly found in woodlands across Europe to western Siberia, and has seven recognized subspecies. It is a stocky, medium-sized owl, whose underparts are pale with dark streaks, and whose upper body may be either brown or grey. (In several subspecies, individuals may be of either color.) The tawny owl typically makes its nest in a tree hollow where it can protect its eggs and young against potential predators. It is non-migratory and highly territorial: as a result, when young birds grow up and leave the parental nest, if they cannot find a vacant territory to claim as their own, they will often starve

Materiall: CuNi
Weight: 9g
Diameter: 26,9 mm
Mintage: 100 000


The German government has decided to mint a €5 collectors’ coin entitled “Marmelade hoverfly”, to be issed at 13 June 2024. It is the seventh coin issued as part of the “Wonderful world of insects” series, which will see a total of nine coins with partially coloured motifs issued over the period 2022-24. The series is intended to bring into focus – especially in light of current developments (insect extinction) – a special group of animals that make up a significant part of our natural heritage.

The €5 collectors’ coin “Marmelade hoverfly” is made of a cupronickel alloy. It weighs 9.68g, measures 27.25mm in diameter and will be available both in mint condition and with a proof-like finish. The mint condition coins will be brought into circulation at their face value (€5). The collector quality coins with a proof-like finish will be higher than their face value and will be issued by the Münze Deutschland (Germany’s official sales agency for collector coins).

The coin was designed by Anna Martha Napp, an artist based in aus Maßlow (picture side), and Andre Witting, a Berlin-based artist (reverse).

The reverse, which will be used for all coins in the series, features an eagle, the words “BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND”, the value and denomination, the year 2024, the twelve stars of Europe and the letter “F” for the State Mint of Stuttgart.
Its smooth edge is engraved with the inscription: “WUNDERWELT INSEKTEN” (WONDERFUL WORLD OF INSECTS).