Catalog
10 Tala 10 Commandments - 3rd Commandment
| Issuer | Central Bank of Samoa |
|---|---|
| Year | 2009 |
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| Reference(s) | KM#197, Schön#157 |
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| Reverse description | The reverse features a bi-metallic composition with a gold-plated outer ring and a .925 silver center. The silver center presents a finely detailed low-relief scene of three robed biblical figures in repose, evoking the Sabbath rest, with the inscribed English translation 'Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy' arcing across the upper portion of the central field. Below the scene, the designation 'III. Lex' identifies the Third Commandment, above a depiction of two stone tablets bearing the Roman numeral listing of all Ten Commandments and the date 2009. The gold-plated ring carries the Latin legend MEMENTO, UT DIEM SABBATI SANCTIFICES along the upper arc, separated by ornamental floral rosettes. |
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| Reverse lettering | MEMENTO, UT DIEM SABBATI SANCTIFICES III. Lex I VI II VII III VIII IV IX V X 2009 |
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| Additional information |
Samoa's "10 Commandments" series issued ten distinct bi-metallic coins in 2009, each assigned to one of the biblical commandments — a format that required the Central Bank to commit to the full run at inception, making incomplete sets a predictable result of the secondary market fragmenting them over time. The third commandment, prohibiting the misuse of God's name, sits in the theological middle of what scholars have long debated as a two-tablet division between duties to God and duties to man.