In 1988 Congress authorized the striking of a silver $1 coin and a gold $5 coin to commemorate the Seoul, Korea Olympic games. The chief coin sculpter and engraver of the U.S. Mint in 1988 was Elizabeth Jones who designed the gold $5 coin. She chose to place the head of Nike on the obverse wearing a crown of olive branches. Take a look courtesy of PCGS Coin Facts UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 1988 GOLD $5 SEOUL OLYMPIAD COMMEMORATIVE Just who or what is Nike? From Greek mythology, Nike a.k.a. "Victory", was a goddess who personified victory thus she is also known as the Winged Goddess of Victory or Winged Victory. For clarification let me present to you an image of Nike that was carved on a slab of stone that rests today at the ruins of the Ancient Greek city of Ephesus (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons): PHOTO OF A STONE CARVING OF NIKE, THE WINGED GODDESS During 480-478 B.C. this silver tetradrachn was struck at Syracuse, Sicily and may be one of the first coins to place a flying Nike above a quadriga. The left photo is considered to be the reverse. (photo courtesy of Coin Archives): SYRACUSE SICILY SILVER TETRADRACHM - FLYING NIKE ABOVE QUADRIGA Lucania may have been the first Greek city state to have produced a coin featuring the head of Nike on its obverse. The following coin is bronze and was struck circa 425 - 350 B.C. (photo courtesy of Coin Archives) LUCANIA CIRCA 425-350 B.C. - HEAD OF NIKE ON OBVERSE While Alexander the Great ruled Macedon, Philoxenos had this gold Stater struck at Miletos Mint which featured a full standing Nike on its reverse (Coin Archives photo): MACEDON GOLD STATER - FULL STANDING NIKE ON REVERSE A few years later, Menes had this gold Stater struck at the Sidon Mint. Some changes were made. Of note is the repositioning of Nike's left leg (Coin Archives photo): MACEDON GOLD STATER - STANDING NIKE ON REVERSE BENT LEG During the Helenistic Period (220 - 190 B.C.) this statue of Winged Victory at Samothrace was carved for a ship's prow. Besides the obvious missing pieces, this statue underscores the missing works from ancient Greece that would help us more concretely 'know' the evolution of art. This work, was discovered in 1863 on the island of Samothrace (hence the name). It depicts the goddess of victory, Nike, standing on the prow of a ship announcing a Rhondian victory. In the context of other available works, Winged Victory with its exquisite modeling of the female form in wet and windblown garments, its vigorous posture and wings and its monumental size, is considered the quintessential masterpiece of the Helenistic period during the Greco-Roman era. (Flickr photo ) WINGED VICTORY OF SAMOTHRACE Since 1853 Nike has been the logo for the University of Melbourne: NIKE - LOGO OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE In 1921 Mexico struck 50 Gold Pesos featuring a full standing Winged Victory on the reverse.(Coin Archives photo): MEXICO 1921 GOLD 50 PESOS - WINGED VICTORY REVERSE The First Division of the American Expeditionary Force Monument was conceived to commemorate the lives of members of the division who died during World War I. The stately column surmounted by an allegorical statue of Victory was dedicated on October 4, 1924, and was the first memorial built in Washington, DC, in honor of the valiant efforts of the soldiers who fought in World War I (Science News photo). PHOTO OF THE FIRST DIVISION OF THE AMERICAN EXPEDIONIONARY FORCE MONUMENT WW2 W/STATUE OF WINGED LIBERTY Since the 1928 Summer Olympics, the obverse face of every Olympic medal bears Nike's figure holding a palm frond in her right hand and a winner’s crown in her left (Freaking News photo) OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL - NIKE Not to be left out of the desire for freedom, Poland authorized the minting of this 1928 5 Zlotych featuring a full figured Winged Victory (Nike) on its reverse (Coin Archives photo): POLAND 1928 SILVER 5 ZLOTYCH - WINGED VICTORY REVERSE A statue of Nike was erected in Warsaw, Poland as a diefied protector of Poland. The statue, as you will see, bears the dates 1939-1945 (Wikimedia Commons photo): WINGED VICTORY (NIKE) - WARSAW, POLAND In 1982 Mexico produced its first Libertad, a silver bullion coin which featured a Winged Victory on its reverse (photo courtesy of Don's World Coin Gallery): MEXICO 1984 SILVER LIBERTAD - WINGED LIBERTY ON REVERSE So, you see, that 1988 5 Dollar Gold Olympic commemorative coin was not the first coin to feature Nike on it. to feature just the head of Nike to feature Nike on its obverse featuring Nike to be struck in gold Here's a bonus photo of a statue located at Washington Arch in London, England featuring Nike (Winged Victory) with a Quadriga reminiscent of those millions of ancient Greek coins (Wikimedia Commons photo): STATUE OF NIKE WITH QUADRIGA - LONDON, ENGLAND Did you enjoy this trivia? Clinker
