Fiji 10 Dollars, 2016

10 Dollars from Fiji. Issued in 2016. Struck in Silver (.999). Measures 55 mm and weighs 93.3 g.

Obverse

Depicts the Giants’ Staircase, the approach to the building interior from the Piazza that was commissioned in 1485. Two giant statues of Mars and Neptune by the Florentine sculptor and architect Jacopo d’Antonio Sansovino guard the staircase. They were chosen to represent the power of Venice on land and at sea. The Lion of St. Marks is also placed above the entrance, just as in reality. Fijiian emblem has been incorporated.

Reverse

Features the Antechamber to the Hall of the Full College, the room where visiting foreign ambassadors and delegations waited to see the Full College, the body delegated by the Senate to deal with foreign affairs. Full of fine friezes, artwork and Corinthian columns since its restoration after a 1574 fire, the coin has chosen the marble fireplace with its sculpture of the female figure of Venice resting on a lion and accompanied by allegories of Glory and Concord. It is the central part of this fireplace that holds the window filled with a piece of Rhodonite, a pink crystalline mineral.

Edge

Plain/smooth