Birth of Venus 1486 by Sandro Botticelli 1 oz Silver Coin 1000 Francs CFA Cameroon 2024
 
The Birth of Venus is an incredibly famous piece of art created by the Italian painter Sandro Botticelli. This piece was likely painted in the mid-1486s, and it depicts the goddess Venus arriving upon the shore after her birth, fully grown. This description of Venus’ birth comes from mythology, and it is the most common way that Venus’ birth is described. The piece depicts the wind god Zephyr, who helped speed Venus to shore, and she stands next to a giant scallop shell. The royal nature of the depiction is not an accident either, as Venus was considered to be a senior goddess in many tales that include her. In this portrayal, she is probably arriving on land at Cythera or Cyprus, as both Greek cities lay claim to Venus and have long been associated with her birthplace. Topics of mythological nature were quite common during this period, but many of them were not rendered in this fashion. The added details of the painting put one in mind of a medieval piece depicting earthly events, which likely is a nod to the earthly life of Venus that is well depicted in many mythos that include her tale. There is less of a sense of the mythical about this painting than is usually used to depict gods and goddesses, and one feels like she might be a real, human woman born of the sea.
 
On a canvas of 90 x 70mm, a new minting technique called “Bi-Metal Max” was applied to give this piece its remarkable weight while keeping its proportions true to the actual painting. This is made possible by combining 14 oz of copper as a base with a top layer of 1 oz of 999 fine Silver, resulting in a high relief. This is a limited edition of 299 pieces only. Each piece is packaged and delivered with a Certificate verifying its edition number and authenticity.