Silver coin “CINDERELLA’S STORY”

The reverse of the coin depicts the heroine of the well-known fairy tale during a magical moment – at midnight, when the striking of the clock signalled an imminent change. One side of the image depicts her as a graceful princess rushing out of the ball in a puffy pink dress, her head adorned with a diadem of genuine Swarovski crystals, while on the other side she is Cinderella, who has seen a lot of trouble in her life, with kitchen pots and mice to keep her company. Both of the princess’s slippers are embellished with Swarovski crystals, too.

As the artist A. Kalinauskienė, who designed the coin, points out, it is the midnight moment – the transformation of a posh beauty into an ordinary girl – that is still very relevant nowadays. ‘Cinderella has a lot of positive qualities, so I am keen to believe that today’s princesses on Instagram are as hard-working and sincere as she is,’ says the designer. Symbolically, the artist has placed daisies (the sign of pure love) and the metaphor of universal freedom – the dove – on the ‘gray’ side, as if to emphasise that fundamental values always win out over material things. Moreover, Cinderella herself is also a symbol – after all, her name derives from French, meaning little ashes, which in turn are an allegory of diligence, humility and sincerity.

The reverse of the collectible silver coin ‘Cinderella’s Story’, which is minted using high relief and antique finish technologies, is decorated not only with Swarovski crystals, but also with a vivid image printed digitally – it brings out the beauty of the many fine details. ‘To be honest, the design itself was quite easy to create – the hardest part was to convey the moment of transformation, when the princess turns into an ordinary girl,’ says A. Kalinauskienė. To enhance the mood of the moment and emphasise the juxtaposition of the change, the artist decided to apply the colours only to the side that depicts the princess.

The obverse of the coin bears the public seal of Niue. The bottom of the seal shows two crossed katoua cleaving clubs, the symbol of the Niue Island, and there is the motto of Niue above them, ‘atua Niue tukulagi’. The obverse is also decorated with an intricate ornament that contains pumpkins, which can be recognised from the fairy tale of Cinderella.