The two-ounce silver coin inspired by the saying memento mori is a unique work of art and a technical masterpiece, as well as a collector’s rarity.

When military commanders in ancient Rome returned from victorious campaigns, they organized celebratory processions to highlight their triumph. It is said that behind each such general walked a slave who whispered in his ear, reminding him that despite his fame, power, and admiration, he was merely a man who would one day die. “Memento mori – remember death!” said the ancient Latins, drawing attention to the transience of fame and life. Christian monks and preachers later adopted this moral principle from them. In the Dark Ages, death lurked everywhere; it could come at any moment, and the main thing, therefore, was to live virtuously in preparation for the afterlife. The motif of transience also became popular among artists at the time, who incorporated skulls, hourglasses, or flickering candles into their works as symbols of the inexorable passage of time. However, this was not a call to despair—quite the opposite. The awareness of the finitude of existence and the inevitability of death can compel a person to cherish time and focus on what is truly essential…

The reverse side of the coin is dominated by a shattered skull. Death with a scythe, emerging from it, watches the hourglass, in which a mortal is drowning. The transience of life is also highlighted by two trees growing in a cemetery—one is in bloom, the other withered. All of this is rendered in high relief, accentuated by patina and selective gilding. The richly decorated obverse side is dedicated to the essential attributes of the coin’s issuer, the state of Cameroon - it bears its national emblem, the nominal value of 2,000 CFA francs, and the year of issue 2026.

The mintage of this coin by T&S Coin is limited to just 500 pieces.