century of abundance

Ancient Greek mythology tells of the god Zeus, born to a man named Cronus. Cronus, it seems, had a penchant for devouring infants, so as soon as Zeus was born, he was hidden in a cave on the island of Crete. The little boy grew up safe from his evil father, cared for by mythical creatures, including a goat—also mythical, of course—that provided him with endless milk. Given Zeus's extraordinary abilities, it seems he was playing a rather cruel prank on his mythical goat when he grasped one of its horns, which broke in his hand. Inside the broken horn sprouted an infinite quantity of fruits, vegetables, and grains (since it came from the goat with the endless milk). Zeus kept the horn and gave it away to whomever he pleased.

In ancient times, the Greeks, the Ptolemies, and others embraced the story of this magical horn and engraved its image on their vessels, temples, and coins, hoping for and perhaps coveting the promise of infinite abundance. As time passed, people forgot about Zeus, but the image of the horn continued to captivate the imagination of artists throughout the ages. They used it to decorate paintings of kings (as a symbol of goodness during the reign of this or that king, and that the country was living in the most glorious era of prosperity and luxury, etc.). We also find it even now in the emblems of many countries and cities, appearing in the emblems of Peru and Colombia, and states such as North Carolina in America and Victoria in Australia.

As for modern currencies, it appeared in many currencies, including Germany in the 19th century and Italy in the 1950s. It was even present on the back of the Egyptian five pound note that bore the image of King Farouk, and it continued to exist even years after the Egyptian revolution!

The image shown here is of a French franc from the 1930s issue from my personal collection. The reverse bears an inscription of not one, but two centuries of plenty! I personally do not know if this design contributed to the prosperity of the French, but fortunately for collectors, a piece like this in the same condition (my personal rating of 63) does not cost more than two dollars!

Moheb Rizkalla