This beautiful 2 Oz Silver coin is the 1er release in the new SLAVIC GODS series and is dedicated to the Slavic God of thunder, lightning, heaven and earth PERUN. The coin features an incredible oaken insert, has an Antique Finish quality and comes in a themed case, along with the Certificate of Authenticity. HISTORY In Slavic mythology, Perun (Cyrillic: Перун) is the highest god of the pantheon and the god of thunderand lightning. His other attributes were fire, mountains, wind, the oak, iris, eagle, firmament (in Indo-European languages, this was joined with the notion of the sky of stone), horses and carts, weapons (hammer, axe (Axe of Perun), and arrow), and war. He was first associated with weapons made of stone and later with those of metal. Of all historic records describing Slavic gods, those mentioning Perun are the most numerous. As early as the 6th century, he was mentioned in De Bello Gothico, a historical source written by the Eastern Roman historian Procopius. A short note describing beliefs of a certain South Slavic tribe states they acknowledge that one god, creator of lightning, is the only lord of all: to him do they sacrifice an ox and all sacrificial animals. While the name of the god is not mentioned here explicitly, 20th century research has established beyond doubt that the god of thunder and lightning in Slavic mythology is Perun. To this day the word perun in a number of Slavic languages means "thunder," or "lightning bolt". The Primary Chronicle relates that in the year 6415 (907 AD) prince Oleg (Scandin.: Olaf) made a peace treaty with the Byzantine Empire and by taking his men to the shrines and swearing by their weapons and by their god Perun, and by Volos, the god of cattle, they confirmed the treaty. We find the same form of confirmation of a peace treaty by prince Igorin 945. In 980, when prince Vladimir the Great came to the throne of Kiev, he erected statues of five pagan gods in front of his palace which he soon thereafter discarded after his Christianization in 988. Perun was chief among these, represented with a silver head and a golden moustache. (p133-) Vladimir's uncle Dobrinja also had a shrine of Perun established in his city of Novgorod. Country Niue Year 2018 Face Value 2 Dollars Metal Silver Fineness 999 Weight 2 Oz Diameter 50 mm Mintage 500 pcs Finish Antique Finish,High Relief,Oak Insert Certificate YES Presentation Case YES