20 euro - Africa – the Serenity of the Elephant

Humans have always admired the measured demeanour and soothing sense of serenity of the elephant. These qualities are highlighted on The Serenity of the Elephant, the fourth coin in the five-piece Eyes of the World series, in the form of the sapphire-blue eyes of an elephant made of sparkling crystals by Swarovski®. The people of Africa have revered elephants since ancient times. In Cameroon, venerated kings are equated with elephants; among the Ashanti people of Ghana, good governance is firmly associated both with the idea of a strong bull elephant and the level-headedness of a matriarch. Many religious and political rituals and traditions that stem from the image humans have of elephants date from a time when the pachyderm’s rights had not yet been curtailed by humans. To ensure that the natural habitat of elephants does not disappear any more than it already has, a new and consistent approach to environmental protection is fundamental. This requires patience and perseverance –attributes that make the elephant such a revered animal. The coin’s obverse is dominated by a mighty bull African elephant in its natural habitat, an image surrounded by a decorative pattern reminiscent of those seen on African fabrics. The coin’s reverse features an elephant’s head in close-up, accentuating its sparkling sapphire-blue eyes.