TRIVIA: Parable of the Sower

The Seed Sower on Some of France's Euro Coins photos courtesy of Don's World Coin Gallery:

2008 5 Euro:

http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...eed Sower&src=William Pujol&query=France euro


2009 10 Euro:

http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...Seed Sower&src=Ole Sjoelund&query=France euro


2009 15 Euro:

http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...eed Sower&src=William Pujol&query=France euro


2009 25 Euro:
http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...eed Sower&src=William Pujol&query=France euro


These Euro coins feature an allegorical figure, The Seed Sower, casting seed to the good (fertile) earth while being immersed in the blessed glory radiating from a rising sun. Know why I bring these Euros to your attention? Because The Seed Sower is not a new coin design. In fact The Seed Sower was pretty much a standard on French coins of the past. The Seed Sower on French coins can trace its ancestry lineage all the way back to the parable of Jesus according to all of the King James New Testament Gospels (Mark 4:1-20, Matthew 13:1-23 and Luke 8:1-15 as well as in the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas). In the parable, a sower dropped seed on the path, on rocky ground, and among thorns, and the seed was lost; but when seed fell on good earth, it grew, yielding thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.


The Biblical passage states, "Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some a hundred. And he said unto them, He that has ears to hear, let him hear."


I'm not going to bore you with myriads of photos, but do have a few you can peruse courtesy of worldcoins.com:

1965-'97 1/2 Franc (32 Years):

http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...1 1/2 Franc (1965-1997)&query=France km 931.1


1960 - 2001 Franc (41 Years):

http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...km925.1 1 Franc (1960+)&query=France km 925.1


1979 - '98: 2 Francs (19 Years):

http://worldcoingallery.com/countri....1 2 Francs (1979-1998)&query=France km 942.1


1960 - '69 5 Francs (9 Years):

http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...m926 5 Francs (1960-1969)&query=France km 926


Did you enjoy this post?

Clinker

 

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You seem to be something of a sower yourself Clinker.

Thanks again for an informative and interesting read.....

 

It has been said that the French Sower design was the inspiration for Weinman's Walking Liberty design on the half dollar.

 

To green18....

AND THANK YOU... once again...:high5:

Clinker

 

Interesting ! That puts a whole new spin on that design for me...

 

Great thread, Clinker. Thanks !

Sometimes, I feel like the third set of seed... sown on fertile ground, but growing amongst the weeds (the concerns of this world)... But today, I feel like the fourth !

Last night, we had a fundraiser for Haiti. We raised over $17,000 ! That's on top of $16,000 we already distributed earlier in the month, directly to aid-givers on the ground in Haiti (Arrbonite Valley region).

In Haiti, $1 goes a long way my friends. A lot of good will come of this.

I got to meet Pastor Charite's two daughters who have moved from Dessalines, Haiti to Austin. They have been warmly welcomed in school, and are beaming ear to ear !

It's a wonderful world today. Hope for the hopeless !

 

I've never responded to any of your threads before Clinker, but I just wanted to let you know that I read them all and enjoy them. It's always good to get that new tidbit of knowledge to keep the old grey matter from shriveling up!
By the way,900 fine, nice job!

 

Very kind of you to say that, but trust me I did very, very little and ask for no credit. I see fishes and loaves multiplyin' all the time ! :high5:

 

Thank you Clinker.... Knowledge shared is a blessing....
Appreciate it much.

 

Ah, I have quite a few of those. The new coins are especially interesting as they were issued at face value. Even the gold versions can be had at face. Of course the FV is higher than the intrinsic value, but at least theoretically they could be used like actual coins. (Usually the Monnaie de Paris does what the US Mint does: sell silver/gold collector coins at prices that are much higher than the face value.) This is a 3-yr series, with the last three pieces being issued this year - see the color attachment.

The "classical" sower is also used for French collector coins from time to time. Have a look at the grayscale attachment ...

Christian

 

In a somewhat abstract style, the Sower is also depicted on the current 10, 20 and 50 cent circulation coins (see below).

You may know, by the way, that in French she is called Semeuse. Note the "se-" at the beginning of the word? Weeelll ... a few years ago when I wrote about her in some English language forum, I constantly referred to her as the Sewer. :whistle:

Christian

 

Thanks Clinker I have a few francs my self that I was a bit ignorant about til now

 

Thanks for the great post, Clinker!

And to 900fine, congratulations on your fundraising efforts for Haiti. Its always great to hear positive stories like that.

 

A great post. Lots of great info being shared. It is a beautiful design design on the coins. I have a few of the older coins but none of the euros.

 

Hey Conder101...

That's a revelation I didn't uncover. Thanks!

Clinker

 

Thanks again chrisild

for sharing your knowledge and your blooper. Did you discover it yourself or did someone else point out the booboo? Thanks for the gteat pic, too.

Clinker

 

Thanks for all that great info. I am considering some of the recent silver bullion coins. I really like the Sower design. TC

 

It has taken me over 60 years to learn that if I keep my mouth shut and my eyes and ears open, I just might learn something. Thanks for a very informative post.

 

The latter, but the person was kind enough to send me a PM. This "abstract" sower on the (euro-)cent coins I don't really like a lot. Then again, it is nice to see she is still around, and even in people's pockets. Thanks for your post, and particularly for the context or background!

Christian

 

Hello TopcatCoin

Must "thank you" for reading this post and for your first positive comment...:high5:

Clinker