3 Euro The Unicorn Coin

Description
Graceful, captivating and, above all, incredibly rare... a unicorn is basically considered synonymous with uniqueness. If you give somebody a unicorn, what you’re really saying is that that person is truly special. The unicorn can also stand for how two people feel about each other while keeping it concealed from others. It stands for something that is exceptionally rare to find: true friendship. On our coin, the unicorn shines brightly, and when it is exposed to ultraviolet light, its golden horn sparkles with magical highlights.

The Unicorn
As Thomas Brezina explains in the series’ collector’s album, most unicorns look like noble steeds. Some, however, may look like goats, while others have elephant feet and curly tails like pigs. Unicorns are exceptionally strong and can even defeat lions. They also need their freedom and may never be kept in captivity. Right below its horn, in a ridge on its forehead, the unicorn is said to have a carbuncle stone. This fiery red crystal is said to have healing powers and bring good luck.

An extraordinary history
For over two thousand years, the unicorn was not even regarded as a mythical creature. It was seen as just another animal... a rare one, certainly, one about which wondrous tales were told, but no stranger than an elephant, a giraffe or a crocodile – creatures that most Europeans had also never been able to see with their own eyes. Throughout its turbulent history, travel accounts and translation errors led to the unicorn being confused with other creatures, such as rhinoceroses, aurochs and antelopes.

In the Middle Ages and the early modern period, the spiral tusk of the narwhal found on the coastlines of the North Sea was mistaken for the mythical body part and referred to as the “Ainkhürn” – literally the unicorn horn. Even today, there are objects – mostly royal regalia – made from narwhal tusks. The powder extracted from these tusks was believed to possess magical healing powers; for example, it was thought to be an antidote to poison.

The Coin Motifs
A gleaming white unicorn charges toward us, its wild mane billowing in the wind: its long, pointy horn is printed in gold, as are a carbuncle stone, an ornament in the bottom right corner and a band along the rim.

The obverse features an intricately decorated key with the letter ‘F’ – ‘F’ as in fantasy. In the background, a sun is depicted in the style of a silhouette, recessed into a circular relief with a subtle texture. The stars sparkling at the edge and all around, as well as the irregularly shaped letters, create a magical effect.

The unicorn takes centre stage on the fifth coin in the Mythical Creatures series. Twelve coins, twelve mysterious beings – when illuminated with ultraviolet light, each appears to come to life. The matching ultraviolet torch is available separately.

Thomas Brezina’s book In the Garden of Mythical Creatures serves as the collector’s album for the 12 legendary beings.