Joana Vasconcelos created a mini-edition of two commemorative coins for the Portuguese participation at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

To celebrate the Portuguese participation in the Olympic Games 2016, the Portuguese Mint and Official Printing Office (INCM) and the Portuguese Olympic Committee invited Joana Vasconcelos to create an edition of two commemorative coins. The first will be a collector’s edition to be released in 2015, and the second will be a 2 euro commemorative current coin, to be released next year.

The collection coin designed by Joana Vasconcelos is the symbiosis of the Olympic Games’ universal symbol and the forms characteristic of the artist’s work, reinforcing simultaneously, through the use of the positive and negative, the symbol of union of the five continents and the gathering of athletes from around the world to this competition.

Producing this coin has proven to be a challenge to INCM, who developed an innovative technological process, after many hours of testing, to make possible the joining of two different metals – gold and silver – in an unparalleled level in numismatics.

The 2 euro current coin reproduces one of Vasconcelos’s most iconic works – Red Independent Heart – which pays a tribute to the determination, endeavour and passion of the Portuguese, and especially the athletes who will represent Portugal in this competition.

These coins may be purchased at the INCM shops in Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra, on the online shop or in the specialised shops in Portugal and around the world. 

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