Saint Helena is a small island in the South Atlantic Ocean which is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The currency of the island is the Saint Helena pound, fixed at parity with the pound sterling. The island has authorised some private mints to issue coins under its jurisdiction, which come in a variety of sizes - including in the popular silver ounce (1 oz silver) format, usually denominated as £1.
This coin features the second design in the Lucky Angel series.
The mint says about it: "The word "luck" was first used during the late Middle Ages. Before that, the idea of good fortune was represented by the word ‘speed’ and, rather than it being linked to chance, it was associated with divine intervention; hence the phrase "Godspeed" (God spede), to wish someone luck.
Luck has a long association with coins too: the lucky penny, given as a gift to a new-born baby; or the lucky silver sixpence, stirred into a Christmas pudding to bring luck to whoever finds it in their bowl on Christmas Day (hopefully without the bad luck of a broken tooth!).
This is true around the world too: the US Silver Dollar is referred to as the "lucky" silver dollar, while the Japanese five-yen coin is placed inside a new wallet when given as a gift to wish the receiver good luck. Indeed, the Japanese words for "five yen" are "go en", a phrase often used between friends to wish each other luck.
Now, as luck would have it, one of history’s luckiest coins, the Angel, is available once more. An elegantly feminine new design by celebrated artist Chiara Principe. |