Amphivena

The coin

The coin is a replica of a clasp (fibula) found in the archaelogical excavations in Uppåkra in southern Sweden. The fibula was made about 1 500 years ago by Lombards in northern Italy or Austria. The original was made of gilded bronze and decorated with garnets. This type of fibulas were common in a large part of Europe during the time.

The name

According to Greek mythology, the Amphivena is an ant-eating serpent with a head at each end, spawned from the blood that dripped of Medusa's head when Perseus flew over the Libyan desert with it in his hand.