Habakkuk Geocoin (Chaldean Edition)

Mooi te zijn in mijn vitrinekast.
Discoveren kan alleen op uitnodiging.

Not only is this a limited edition, but the coin design has already been retired. Exactly 293 Habakkuk coins were made and they will never be reminted.

The Chaldean coins were fashioned of green resin on gold to recall sunlight on the marsh plants. To the people of that land, nothing is closer to paradise and they call it Eden.

In the ancient world, when the Babylonian empire still held sway over much of the land, a man by the name of Habakkuk began to dream dreams and prophesy. A message of utmost importance was revealed to him. While most of the leaders and men of power ignored his words or ridiculed him, a band of followers saw the wisdom of his message. These dedicated individuals, at great cost to themselves, set about the task of preserving his prophesy and delivering it to individuals of knowledge and influence. The followers brought by barge the finest frits from the golden city of Tanis and precious resins by caravan from Lebanon. Copper and bronze were smelted then beaten into shape by strong arms. Two hundred ninety-three coins were stamped, no more and no less, coins designed to last for millennia. One hundred fifty-one coins were finished with resin and one hundred forty-two coins were finished with glass fused upon the metal in the hottest furnaces. They were sent out to the kingdoms of Edom, Gilead, Ammon, Babylonia, and others. Two hundred ninety-three coins for two hundred ninety-three people of influence.

Front - The word at the top is "Habakkuk" written in Hebrew. The building is the Great Ziggurat and represents the Babylonian Empire. The background image is a war horse and a chariot wheel representing the Babylonian war machine. The text is from the first chapter of Habakkuk and is perhaps as relevant today as it was when it was first written. The idea in Habakkuk is that the people of Judea and Jerusalem had become unjust and cruel. The Babylonians were used by God as a tool to bring an end to the corrupt Judean government.

Back - This side of the coin shows a heart and feather being weighed on a scale. This imagery is well known from the Egyptian concept of judgement in which the heart of a person is weighed against the feather of Maat (truth). The balance shows that the person (most likely an influential citizen of Jerusalem) is weighed down with sin. The imagery also comes from the book of Daniel in which the king is told "You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting." The text at the bottom says "sun and moon stood still in the heavens." The top of the scale shows the sun and the moon in an eclipse to give gravity to God's judgement. The text in the background is from Habakkuk chapter 3.