The Werewolf 1 oz Silver Round
A full moon hangs over an Eastern European village while a werewolf watches from above. Intaglio Mint’s 1 troy ounce .999 fine silver round captures the tension of a familiar horror scene: ordinary life below, an uncanny presence nearby and the suggestion that a human being may conceal an animal nature.
From Ancient Transformation to Medieval Tale
Stories of people becoming wolves are older and more varied than any single modern rule about moonlight or bites. In Book I of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the Arcadian king Lycaon attempts to test Jupiter with a horrific meal. Fleeing the god’s punishment, he becomes a wolf. Ovid emphasizes that the transformed figure retains traces of his former appearance and violent character.
A different perspective appears in Marie de France’s medieval Bisclavret. Its central figure is a nobleman who periodically becomes a wolf and needs his hidden clothing to regain human form. When his clothes are stolen, he remains trapped as an animal. A king nevertheless recognizes human understanding in his behavior and offers protection.
Read together, these tales show why the werewolf has remained such a flexible subject. The animal form can reveal cruelty already present in a person, or conceal a person deserving sympathy. This round chooses the ominous side of the tradition, placing a watchful creature above a village under the full moon.
Design Details
Obverse: A detailed werewolf gazes down upon an Eastern European village in moonlight. “THE WEREWOLF” follows the upper circumference, identifying the subject while the scene below suggests a story about to unfold.
Reverse: The high-relief Intaglio Mint logo sits on a radial burst within a stippled border bearing “ONE TROY OUNCE” and “.999 FINE SILVER,” flanked by stars.
The 39 mm format, reeded edge and Brilliant Uncirculated finish present this legendary shapeshifter as a collectible silver design.
Specifications
- Weight: 1.00 troy ounce
- Thickness: 3.10 mm
- Purity: .999 fine
- Edge: Reeded
- Diameter: 39 mm
- Finish: Brilliant Uncirculated
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