My October ?Coin of the Month? is a 1988 Vatican City 50 Lire coin commemorating the ?Creation of Eve.?

This month?s coin of the month comes by the way of ?The BRG Collection? and it is because of his E-Bay listing tip and recommendation that I currently own this coin. One of many things I like about ?Collectors Society? is when any one of its members spots a coin that may fit in another member?s collection that they will often notify that member of the buying opportunity. I have done this in the past for other collectors, just as they have done it for me.

There are times when my coin collecting interests intersect with my Christian faith, and this coin represents one of those times in its depiction of ?The Creation of Eve.? With the Krause Publications catalog number of Y #208, this NGC MS-67 1988 Vatican City 50 lire coin is struck in stainless steel, weighs 6.2 grams, and is 24.8 mm in diameter. The obverse of this coin features a bust Pope John Paul II, with the Roman Numerals X MCMLXXXVIII to represent the 10th year of Pope John Paul II?s papacy in 1988. The name of the coin?s engraver is Guido Veroi, and his name appears just below Pope John Paul?s bust. The reverse features a large portrait of God as a bearded man breathing into Eve the ?breath of life.? Eve is portrayed coming forth out of the womb of Adam as he sleeps with her arms raised in worship to God, and her body enveloped with ?the breath of life.? Additionally, there is an ?R? mintmark on the reverse to the left of the coin?s L. 50 face value, representing that the coin was minted in Rome. Unfortunately, I was unable to find this coins mintage.

When ?The BRG Collection? recommended this coin to me, he did so figuring it would be a good coin for my ?Inspirational ladies? custom set. At first, I was hesitant to add this coin to my set because this set is a positive, non-sexist portrayal of inspirational women and allegorical virtues. This coin, however, albeit Biblical, portrays Eve as a naked woman. After a few back and forth e-mails with ?The BRG Collection," I decided to buy the coin anyway and figure out later how to integrate it into my collection. After all this coin IS an accurate, yet tactfully done, representation of the Genesis account of creation. Furthermore, although I am not a Catholic, this coin does come from Vatican City.

Left with the problem of how to integrate this coin into my collection, I read the Genesis account of creation from the Bible for a little inspiration on how best to present this coin. According to Genesis, this started when there was no companion in all of creation compatible to Adam, causing God to declare, ?It is not good for man to be alone." Then I thought of the inspiration Adam must have felt when he got up and saw his wife for the first time! Then it came to me, since Eve is the first wife of the first marriage, I fittingly dedicated my coin to the countless number of wives who throughout human history have been great inspirations to their husbands.

For the complete Genesis account of ?The Creation of Eve? and my owner description, click on the following link to this month?s coin of the month in my ?Inspirational Ladies? custom set "www.collectors-society.com/WCM/CoinView.aspx?sc=108717" Until next time, happy collecting!

Gary