The 100th piece on the site, a present from my daughter

This is the 100th post on the site and I hope you’re enjoying these little snippets about coins and exonumia. I’ve been trying to think how best to mark this milestone – my most expensive coin? A coin from a country I haven’t covered yet? Something for our Patron Saint?

I acquired a special piece just the other day that I’m going to share. Not expensive, it’s a cheap mass produced souvenir from Temu. Not a new country – it’s fairly generic and kind of hard to pin to a specific country. It is religious though, so St Eligius may like this piece too.

The reason this piece is special is because it was a Christmas present from my daughter – the first coin in fact, that she chose and purchased herself as a gift for me.

Obverse / The Last Supper

The coin depicts Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting of the Last Supper. Painted between 1494 – 1498, it is not a typical “oil on canvas” type painting. It is a 4.6m x 8.8m (15ft x 28.8ft) fresco, painted directly on the wall of the dining room of the former Dominican convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, in the refectory of the convent.

Undoubtedly one of the most important pieces of art historically, there are numerous modern copies of it from prints and posters, to medallions such as mine.

The subject of the painting is the last meal Jesus shared with his disciples. My daughter knows I like religious pieces, and this of course fits neatly in my coins with biblical references collection. This event is well covered in numerous bible passages. Particularly in the Gospels:

• Matthew 26:17-29
• Mark 14:12-26
• Luke 22:14-23
• (It is briefly mentioned in John 13, although the meal itself isn’t covered in as much detail)

and in 1 Corinthians 11:23-25.

Reverse

The reverse features a “classic” depiction of Jesus with long hair, beard and wearing a simple tunic. That neither side of the piece has any text, I think adds to encouraging the holder of the medallion to concentrate on the imagery.

Christmas presents

The Last Supper piece was actually one of three I was gifted by my daughter. Their variations speak to the beauty of gifts:

The lower-right piece depicts Donald Trump, facing left with the text “Take America Back”, “In God we trust” and the year (of the next US Presidential election) 2024. The reverse features the seal of the United States with “45th President of the United States” and “Donald Trump”. While this is not a piece I would have gone out to get myself, it does speak to current world events as I write this (December 2023) and to that end, it does what so many pieces do, it captures a moment in history. I’m sure many of my US based readers will have thoughts on this piece and its subject one way or the other. The one thing I would say on politics is, if you have the opportunity to vote in your elections, do it. There are many people around the world who do not have that opportunity, or who risk getting killed trying to vote.

The lower-left piece depicts Elvis Presley, holding a microphone with a musical staff behind him and with the years of his life, 1935-1977. The reverse features his portrait, signature and the text “The king of rock and roll”. A little before my time, but I’m definitely familiar with his music. Here’s one of my favourites, Jailhouse Rock:

Three interesting pieces and all the more special for being gifts. What is the most interesting gift coin you have received? Let us know below!