Niue 2010 $1 Icarus Silver Proof
The myth tells the doomed story of Icarus, who is imprisoned with his father Daedalus on the island of Crete by Kind Minos. Daedalus was a skilled craftsman from Athens who had built the Labyrinth for the King to hold the mighty Minotaur. He and Icarus were exiled to Crete for giving the ball of yarn to Ariadne, the King's daughter, to help Theseus, who was an enemy of Minos, survive the Labyrinth and defeat the Minotaur.
To escape their imprisonment, Daedalus fashion two pairs of wings from wax and feathers, and told his son before they took off not to fly too close to the sun or too close to the sea. In his wanton curiosity and excitement of taking flight, Icarus forgot his father's words and flew towards the sun, where the waxed part of the wings melted and the feathers dropped away. Icarus fell to his death in the sea that now bears his name (Icarian Sea).
Creating a superb design that beautifully captures the mythological tale of Icarus and his wings, the master craftspeople at Mennica Polska have outdone themselves. Honouring this timeless story with a reverse image that features Icarus and his wings, with the nearby sun set as a stylised icon, the Mint has created a truly eye-catching work of art to kick off what is sure to be a popular series of silver coins. Featured on the obverse are various modes of flight along with the title of the series, the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, and the nominal face value.
Each coin is struck in a 40.00mm x 28.00mm rectangular format, from 28 grams of 92.5% sterling silver, and is supplied in a specially designed capsule, accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity confirming the exclusive worldwide mintage of just 6000 coins!
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