5 euro copper coin A little miracle, Austria 2021

It’s a chicken and egg situation. Which came to symbolise Easter first, the chicken or the egg from which it emerges? Whatever the correct answer, there are few better metaphors for the new life and rebirth associated with spring and Easter than the sight of a fluffy little chick using its beak to peck a hole through the shell of its egg.

An ancient symbol of fertility, the egg was a feature of pagan festivals celebrating spring. For Christians, Easter eggs are thought to represent Jesus rising from the dead. But eggs were also eaten by the ancient Persians and Egyptians when celebrating their New Year, which took place in spring. For the chick, the egg is the final step on its journey to our miraculous world; a journey it makes unaware that it is part of that miracle itself.

Coin motif

Surrounded by spring flowers and with a butterfly floating by its side, a chick emerges from its egg to discover the natural wonders of life.