From Adam Davidoff and Phish Coins comes the first (and only) Bethel Woods(tock) Coin:
For one side of the Bethel Woods(tock) Coin I designed a tribute to the original Woodstock logo with the acoustic guitar and dove, but worked in a Phishy spin. Instead of an acoustic guitar, I depicted as accurately as possible the new “Ocedoc” guitar currently being used by Trey. Instead of a dove, I placed the Famous Mockingbird on the neck of the guitar.
As a spin-off from the original phrase “An Aquarian Exposition in White Lake, NY” I changed it to read “A Piscean Exposition in Bethel, NY” and did so for two reasons. First, we are not actually at the dawning of the Age of Aquarius as some seemed to think in the mid 1960s, we are still in the Age of Pisces. I am not an astrology kind of guy… there is actually a scientific element to this. Secondly, the symbol for Pisces is a fish, so I couldn’t resist the double entendre. Instead of using the original “2 Days of Peace and Music” phrase, I changed it to read “3 More Days of Peace & Music” since that is exactly what will go down this upcoming Memorial Day Weekend!
As for the flip side of the Bethel Woods(tock) Coin, I created a scene that blends Memorial Day history with a dose of Gamehendge imagery and symbolism. The Rhombus in the center of the design is a tribute to the Tony Smith’s “New Piece” sculpture which can be found “somewhere” in New Jersey, in Trey’s old stomping grounds. The Rhombus serves as a tribute to the ultimate Memorial Day symbol in my eyes, The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I am calling this Rhombus “The Tomb of the Unknown Lizard” and the scene portrays a lizard rejoicing in the overthrow of King Wilson, as symbolized by the memorial wreath of poppies featuring the historic Crest of Prussia in the middle. The poppy flower has been tied to Memorial Day since the early 1900s when women used to sell them to raise money for decorating the tombs of fallen soldiers on Memorial Day. This holiday in fact was originally called “Decorating Day” for this reason.
The Rhombus was a sacred site at which the Lizards would pray to Icculus. The sky above has the clouds parting with the sun between, representing The Divided Sky, and the two “Gateways to Gamehendge” are represented by the Nitrous Oxide tank with the word “Kung” written on it. The Helping Friendly Book lies on the ground, having been retrieved by the Famous Mockingbird, and the tree to the right of the Rhombus is a Weeping Fikus, commonly known as the “Tree of Knowledge” which is mentioned in Colonel Forbin’s Ascent.
I hope you like the design, as it is littered with Phish symbolism! As all Phish Coins are, the Bethel Woods(tock) Coin is antique silver in color, 1.75″ in diameter, has a reeded edge (like a quarter) and is sequentially numbered from 1-300.
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