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Joana Vasconcelos, José Manuel Constantino and Rui Carp
A coin by Joana Vasconcelos, featuring the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, presented at Casa da Moeda
November 4, 2015
A minting and presentation ceremony was held today at the Casa de Moeda facilities for the collectable coin commemorating Portugal's Olympic team for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games - The Preparation, designed by plastic artist Joana Vasconcelos.
As well as the renowned plastic artist, present at the ceremony were the Chairman of the Board of Directors of INCM, Rui Carp, the President of Portugal's Olympic Committee, José Manuel Constantino, the ex-judo fighter and current national selector for the discipline, João Neto, and the sailors Sara Carmo and Joana Pratas.
During the presentation, Joana Vasconcelos stated that she took on the challenge of designing a coin with much enthusiasm, as "there is a tradition of banknote and coin designers, who are believed in the art world to be specialists, and it is an honour to form part of this group of artists".
"It was a very intriguing project that allowed me to revisit my background as both a jeweller and an athlete, two parts of my life that are now less present, but which made me the person I am today", continued the artist, who practiced Karate until she was forced to abandon it due to an injury.
The plastic artist also mentioned that, during the coin creation process, she always kept in mind the intention to "support Portuguese athletes and form part of the team" that will represent the country at the 2016 Olympic Games.
Rui Carp highlighted the special combination of Joana Vasconcelos' art and the innovative minting technique "developed by INCM exclusively for this commemorative coin, which also represents the five rings of the Olympic movement in a particularly well rendered way".
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of INCM, also stated "we couldn't have found a better way to support our athletes in their preparation for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games".
In turn, José Manuel Constantino expressed his content with the result of this partnership between the Portuguese Olympic Committee, INCM and the artist Joana Vasconcelos, which will support Portugal's Olympic mission.
The coin entitled "Portugal's Olympic team for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games - The Preparation" has a face value of 2.50 Euros. Its issue is limited to 10,000 copies in gold and silver with a proof finishing, and 150,000 copies in cupronickel with a normal finishing.
