Coins for the Child in All of Us Have you heard of Hans Christian Andersen? You, probably, not only know his name, but one of his fairy tales is a favorite of yours. If you have children, it's almost certain a book featuring one or more of his 168 fairytales is a well-used volume in your home. To more precisely answer the question above here are some excerpts from the Royal Scandinavian Mint (located in Salt Lake City, Utah) website: "Hans Christian Andersen is a world famous Danish fairy tale author." "Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales almost always center around the premise of the differences between rich and poor, showing compassion for those who are outcast and suffering and making fun of the spoiled and conceited. His stories teach us that appearances can be deceiving, and that there is a magical beauty even within the most unlikely characters. Because of his wonderful talent for heart-wrenching stories, Hans Christian Andersen is one of the most beloved childrens authors in the world. In his lifetime, he wrote 168 fairy tales, and his writing has been translated into more than 100 languages. His best-known works include Thumbelina, the Ugly Duckling, the Emperor's New Clothes, the Little Mermaid and the Little Matchstick Girl." In 2005, (the 200th Anniversary of H. C. Andersen's birth) the Scandinavian Mint issued the first of a series of coin sets (5-piece) under contract to the Danish Mint. I will place a link to their website for you later in this post. Before I do that, here's some links to the 10 Kronor silver coins issued thus far: All NCLT and circulating Danish Coins issued under authorization of Denmark's Monetary Union are legal tender in Denmark. Disclaimer: No part of this article is an endorsement of the coins or of the Royal Scandinavian Mint by me nor is it a disapproval of any coin, the Royal Scandinavian Mint or prices shown. It's simply an article designed to inform you of whats' available and by whom. The Ugly Duckling: http://rsmint.com/2005denmark10krsilverbucoinuglyduckling.aspx Little Mermaid: http://rsmint.com/2005denmark10krsilverbucoinlittlemermaid.aspx Snow Queen: http://rsmint.com/2006denmark10krsilverbucoinsnowqueen.aspx The Shadow: http://rsmint.com/2006denmark10krsilverbucointheshadow.aspx Nightingale: http://rsmint.com/2007denmark10krsilverbucoinnightingale.aspx The Hans Christian Anderson Celebration coins are available in sets or individually (C-N, Gold and Silver): Circulating Coins: http://rsmint.com/theshadow.aspx Royal Scandinavian Mint Home Page: http://rsmint.com/about-us.aspx There are other coins struck or authorized by various countries featuring fairy tales on them. One of those countries is France who authorized commemorative Euros celebrating fairy tales that became movies. Here's three of them (worldcoingallery.com photos): 2002 1 1/2 Euro Snow White: Original story by the Brothers Grimm. Became 1.) the first full-length cel-animated feature in motion picture history, 2.) the first animated feature film produced in America 3.) the first animated feature film produced in full color 4.) the first to be produced by Walt Disney 5.) the first in the Walt Disney's Animated Classics canon. Remember this poster from December 21, 1937? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Snowwhiteposter.jpg And here's France's 1.5 Euro coin produced in 2002: http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...2) Snowwhite Fairytale&query=France Snowwhite 2002 1 1/2 Euro Cinderella: Cinderella stories date back in time to the 1st Century BC, but since this article bears a numismatic theme know this: It was produced as an opera beginning in 1709: wikipeia.org photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Massenet_Cendrillon.jpg It's adaptation into a ballet occurred first in 1893: wikipedia.org photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cinderella-ballet-Ashton-Helpmann.jpg In 2008 Cinderella became an Ice Show produced by Tim A Duncan and Edward Barnwell. It became a Pantomime production debuting at the Drury Lane Theatre, London, England in 1904 and became a sold-out feature in 1905 at the world reknown Adelphi Theatre. Here's the Adelphi Theatre Poster (wikipedia.org photo) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CinderAdelphi.jpg It's been the theme of many books, movies, plays and other entertaining adaptations. Want to see the coin? (worldcoingallery.org photo): http://worldcoingallery.com/countri... Cinderella Fairytale&query=France Cinderella 2002 1 1/2 Euro Pinocchio: Pinocchio first appeared in 1883 in Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio. Your first impression of the story probably came about when you sat in a movie theatre watching the Technicolor version on the big white screen. Here's France's commemorative coin celebrating the ever-popular story: http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...2) Pinocchio Fairytale&query=France Pinocchio Thought you might enjoy... Clinker
Sure did, Clinker. Thank you. Cannot really say that I like those "painted" pieces, but I guess that is not the point here. Some more from that French series (e.g. Alice in Wonderland) are here for example: http://www.euromuenzen-verwaltung.de/index.php?option=bilder&galerie=frankreich-maerchen The Danish coins, by the way, came in three different varieties, always with the 10 kroner face value - and the brass version was available at face and actually circulates in Denmark. The silver and gold pieces were/are more expensive. Apart from fairy tale "coins", France and Belgium for example have also issued various pieces featuring characters from comic strips: Tintin, Asterix, Spirou, etc. Christian
I would think they would make these coins more of a looker type, the coins just aren't hat appealing. But hey, for somebody that might collect fairy tale items, these kinda things must look great in their collection. Great post Clinker
