Alexandr Korol

The orb itself represents the three worlds: heaven, earth, and the underworld. And on the other side of the coin — a cross, dividing it into four parts. That’s the four living creatures, the four elements, the four seasons, the four realms. There it is. And now I’m set on making a coin like this. How remarkable, though — that someone had already come to the same understanding. You see how far back this goes, even in ancient times. And I also know there are old Slavic coins with exactly these same depictions. What’s striking is that I didn’t just decide to copy it. First I drew my own sketches, with my own meaning. Then I looked into how coins were made in the past, what edges they had — and in the process I stumbled on exactly the same meaning I had just given it myself. Everything repeats.