November 21, 2013 – Luck is not venal but everybody strives for it. However, at least an artistic symbol of luck one might give as a present: the legendary four-leaf clover. On behalf of the Republic of Palau Coin Invest Trust has inserted a real four-leaf clover into an ounce of silver.
Palau / 5 Dollars / 1oz Silver .925 / 38.61 mm / Mintage: 2,014.
The front of the coin features the coat of arms of the Nation of Palau against a polished background, as well as the official name of the issuing country, Republic of Palau and the nominal value, 5 $.
On the reverse the field contains a real four-leaf clover. Along the rim runs the legend: Better an ounce of luck than a pound of gold. Around the letters floral ornaments and four-leaf clovers are entwined. The year of issue is indicated in the lower part: 2014.
People seek immaterial goods valuing them without precisely knowing how to obtain or keep them. Sanity, satisfaction, luck. That is what we all wish for ourselves and others. As central as these goals are, as manifold are the symbols assigned to them in the course of human history. One of the most famous symbols of luck is without any doubt the four-leaf clover which is considered to be as rare as good fortune itself. While clover generally shows only three leaves, an unusual mutation – estimates mention a ratio between 1:60 and 1:10,000 – adds a fourth leaf to the plant.
They say even Eva, when expelled from Paradise carried such a clover with her. In Christianity the plant helped all over again to render abstract ideas concrete: with the three leaves Saint Patrick explained the Holy Trinity to the Irish – making the shamrock the national symbol of Ireland. In the four-leaf clover, by contrary, many perceived the cross, the four gospels, the four elements fire, water, earth and air, and much more. The Celtic druids also linked the four-leaf clover to the supernatural sphere utilizing the plant to ban bad spirits.
In other times and cultures the clover was conceded positive connotations, too: for the Chinese it stands for spring and summer, and in the Middle Ages it was s symbol of a romantic rendezvous.
Postcard with good wishes for the new year, around 1900. Source: Wikicommons.
It is no easy task, however, to give a four-leaf clover away as a gift since you must find it in the first place. Coin Invest Trust has undertaken this challenge on behalf of the coin collectors. Every year, since quite some time, a new clover coin has been issued yearly, carrying a real four-leaf clover. The ‘ounce of silver’ which encloses the lucky charm has been a symbol of luck on its own for centuries: it was custom to give a silver penny to the newlywed in order to invoke material prosperity, and a silver coin was placed into the cradle of newborns. Hence this coin combines two lucky charms in one.
The mintage corresponds to the year of issue and therefore every year one additional coin is being issued. However, you should seize your piece quickly, since all previous issues are already sold out and are circulating only among collectors.
For information on this coins and the series please go to the Coin Invest Trust website.
Here you can find a list of lucky charms (#1 is, of course, the four-leaf clover).