20 Euro Africa – The Serenity of the Elephant Coin P
Humans have always admired the measured demeanour and soothing sense of serenity of the elephant. These qualities are highlighted on *The Serenity of the Elephant*, the fourth coin in the five-piece *Eyes of the World* series, in the form of the sapphire-blue eyes of an elephant made of sparkling crystals by Swarovski®. The people of Africa have revered elephants since ancient times. In Cameroon, venerated kings are equated with elephants; among the Ashanti people of Ghana, good governance is firmly associated both with the idea of a strong bull elephant and the level-headedness of a matriarch. Many religious and political rituals and traditions that stem from the image humans have of elephants date from a time when the pachyderm’s rights had not yet been curtailed by humans. To ensure that the natural habitat of elephants does not disappear any more than it already has, a new and consistent approach to environmental protection is fundamental. This requires patience and perseverance –attributes that make the elephant such a revered animal. The coin’s obverse is dominated by a mighty bull African elephant in its natural habitat, an image surrounded by a decorative pattern reminiscent of those seen on African fabrics. The coin’s reverse features an elephant’s head in close-up, accentuating its sparkling sapphire-blue eyes.