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20 Dollars Scylla and Charybdis
| Issuer | Palau |
|---|---|
| Year | 2020 |
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| Currency | Dollar of the United States (1992-date) |
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| Obverse description | The central field displays the Republic of Palau coat of arms within an ornate shield, depicting a traditional outrigger canoe above a scene of a sea god bearing a trident seated alongside a mermaid amid waves, with the legend REPUBLIC OF PALAU encircling the shield and eight five-pointed stars flanking it. Below the shield appears the mint series name RAINBOWS END in the exergue area. The denomination 20$ and the date 2020 are inscribed in the lower field. The broad outer border features dramatic high-relief depictions of the sea monster Scylla emerging from turbulent waters, with scaly serpentine coils and clawed appendages framing the central design, while the legend SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS arcs across the upper border on a banner. The coin is struck in antiqued finish, lending the entire design a deep, atmospheric patina. |
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| Edge | Smooth |
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| Additional information |
Palau has operated a prolific commemorative program since the 1990s, licensing its issuing authority to overseas minting houses — primarily the Bavarian State Mint and B.H. Mayer's Kunstprägeanstalt — to produce collector pieces with no meaningful domestic circulation. This coin is one such product, its legal-tender status a technicality of Pacific island monetary arrangements rather than any genuine fiscal function.
Scylla and Charybdis appear in Book XII of the Odyssey, the twin hazards of a strait conventionally identified with the Strait of Messina. The phrase entered navigational language as a genuine sailor's warning long before it became rhetorical shorthand.