Aesop’s Fables Recalled on Greece’s First €1.5 Proof Nordic Gold Coin

The Greek Mint’s first coin in a series of Proof Nordic gold (aluminum-bronze) €1.5 coins that will retell the best-known and loved of the fables recalls the fable of the tortoise and the hare.

A coin from the Greek Mint is highlighting one of Aesop’s most famous fables, featuring the tortoise and the hare in a footrace.

The coin is the first in a series of Proof Nordic gold (aluminum-bronze) €1.5 coins that will retell the best-known and loved of the fables.

The fable of the tortoise and the hare is credited to Aesop, a slave and storyteller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 564 B.C.

In this story, a hare kept mocking a tortoise for being slow.

One day the tortoise, tired of the hare showing off, challenged him to a race and the hare accepted. The tortoise set off, moving slowly but steadily. The hare soon left the tortoise behind and, confident of winning, took a nap midway through the race.

When he awoke, however, he found that his competitor, crawling slowly but steadily, had arrived before him. The fable’s moral is that diligence and perseverance can trump talent when it fails to work hard.

The 2024 coin obverse features the namesake animals crossing the finish line, and the denomination. The reverse depicts the same two animals, but in colour.

The coin weighs 21.9 grams and measures 40 millimeters in diameter. It has a mintage limit of 3,500 pieces and comes in a book-like printed folder.

U.S.-based distributor Royal Scandinavian Mint offers the coin for $27.25 (but it was temporarily unavailable as of Dec. 10). To order, or learn more, visit the website www.rsmint.com.