Every once in a while a coin subject comes along that really grabs me and I feel I just have to share my research findings with everyone. This is one of those times. The subject is EXTINCT, NEAR-EXTINCT, ENDANGERED CREATURES & NUMISMATICS, To prepare you for this subject, here's an excerpt from wpns_pr_wildlife.html "In September, 1914, a rare bird slipped from her perch and lay dead on the floor of her cage in the Cincinnati Zoo. Usually when a bird dies, no one pays much attention, but this one was tenderly gathered up and sent to Washington, DC, where she was expertly mounted. Her name was Martha and she had been seen by thousands of people. The unusual thing about Martha was that she was the very last passenger pigeon known to be living anywhere in the world. It's hard to believe that the world will never see another living passenger pigeon. They had been the most numerous bird that ever lived, with a population of 3 to 5 billion in the early 1800's. In 1870, with their numbers already diminished, one flock contained over 2 million birds. They were strong, swift flyers and lived up to 25 years if caged. But their numbers also made them the cheapest meat available and after 1860, the telegraph and railroad allowed hunters to follow their flocks with nets and traps. In 1896, the last flock of 250,000 was slaughtered by hunters and in 1900 a young boy shot the last one seen in the wild. So how does the passenger pigeon relate to coins? No one has yet issued a coin with its likeness, but there is a coin that honors another famous, but extinct bird. The 10 rupee coin of Mauritius, issued in 1971 to commemorate the island's independence, shows the Dodo (Figure 1), a large flightless dove that has been extinct since 1680. The Dodo was nearly tame and its meat was tough and bitter, but it was slaughtered by the sailors and settlers who came to the island." Disclaimer: At the time this article was posted, all links to photos were live, however some links lead to coins for sale which may have been sold rendering the link useless. Also, If a link brings you face to face with a coin offered for sale, that fact is not a personal endorsement of the coin, its price nor of the company or person tendering the offer. However, I believe the selling party is reputable and If the coin is on my want list and priced right for the grade, I wouldn't hesitate to order it. Do you know, in 1971, Mauritius issued 50,000 Uncirculated 35mm Copper-Nickle10 Rupees NCLTs and 750 Silver (35mm 0.5948 oz, ASW) Proof coins in commemoration of the country's independence featuring the Dodo Bird on the reverse of the coin? Here's a photo of that coin courtesy of Don's World Coin Gallery: http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...Rupees (1971) Dodo bird&query=Mauritius km 38 There's another, I believe, coin you should know about. Gibraltar's first decimal crown (aka 25 new pence minted in 1971). Its reverse pictures the Barbary Ape, the only wild non-human primate in Europe. the Barbary Ape is also found in North Africa and is actually a monkey. It's called an ape because it doesn't have a tail. Legend says that the British will maintain control of Gibraltar for as long as the apes remain. One hundred years ago only 3 of the apes were left on Gibraltar, so several were imported from Morocco. These multiplied to over 100 and became a nuisance (all of those left today are tame and in private keeping). Photo courtesy of wcoins.com: http://www.wcoins.com/d_ximages/c2140.jpg Following are photos of other coins featuring an Extinct, Near-Extinct or Endangered creature: This link is to worldcoincatalog.com's page with photos of three Afghanistan coins featuring our subjects. Scroll to each photo: http://www.worldcoincatalog.com/C/Afghanistan/comm/1978/Afghanistan1978.htm Several Countries, from time to time, issue circulation coins and NCLT (proof and commemorative) coins featuring Extinct, Near-Extinct and Endangered creatures on one of their sides (obverse or reverse). Here's a few: Bosnia - Herzegovina 1994 500 Dinara (Wolf): (blackmountaincoins.com photo): http://www.blackmountaincoins.com/p/BMC/c-MAMMAL-COINS/1994_BIH_00004.html Bulgaria 1993 100 Leva (Ibex): (blackmountain.com photo): http://www.blackmountaincoins.com/p/BMC/c-MAMMAL-COINS/1993_BGR_01053.html CANADIAN COINS: (worldcoingallery.com photos) 1995 50 Cents (Atlantic Puffin): http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...ntic Puffin&src=Mike McLaughlin &query=Puffin 1995 50 Cents (Whooping Crane): http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...ane&src=Mike McLaughlin &query=Whooping Crane 1996 50 Cents (Cougar Kittens): http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...ar Kittens&src=Mike McLaughlin &query=Kittens 1998 50 Cents (Orca Whales): http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...ales&src=Mike McLaughlin &query=Killer Whales 1998 50 Cents (Humpback Whale): http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...ale&src=Mike McLaughlin &query=Humpback Whale 1998 50 Cents (Beluga Whale): http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...eluga Whale&src=Mike McLaughlin &query=Beluga 1998 50 Cents (Blue Whale): http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...e Whale&src=Mike McLaughlin &query=Blue Whale 1999 50 Cents (Lynx): http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...ian Cat, Lynx&src=Mike McLaughlin &query=Lynx 2000 50 Cents (Red-Tail Hawk): http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...ail Hawk&src=Mike McLaughlin &query=Tail Hawk 2000 50 Cents (Osprey): http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...000) Osprey&src=Mike McLaughlin &query=Osprey 2000 50 Cents (Bald Eagle): http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...d Eagle&src=Mike McLaughlin &query=Bald Eagle 1967 $1 (Goose): http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...Dollar (1967) Centennial (goose) &query=km 70 1980 $1 (Polar Bear): http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...ollar (1980) Arctic Territories &query=km 128 Chilean 2 Centesimos (Condor): (wcoins.com photo) http://www.wcoins.com/imagegallery/Chile.htm (Panda on a Tree) 1987 Chinese 50 Yuan: (worldcoingallery.com photo): http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...0 Yuan (1987) Panda on tree&query=China panda Eritea 1994 Crown (Cheetah w/Cubs): (blackmountaincoins.com photo): http://www.blackmountaincoins.com/p/BMC/c-MAMMAL-COINS/1994_ERI_ 00033.html Kurdistan 2003 10 Dinar (Persian Fallow Deer): (blackmountaincoins.com photo) http://www.blackmountaincoins.com/p/BMC/c-MAMMAL-COINS/2003_IRQ_00895.html Malawi 1978 10 Kwacha (Sable Antelope): (blackmountaincoins.com photo) http://www.blackmountaincoins.com/p/BMC/c-MAMMAL-COINS/1978_MWI_05914.html Mongolia 2003 500 Tugrik (Wild Goat): http://www.blackmountaincoins.com/p/BMC/c-MAMMAL-COINS/2003_MNG_00127.html Mongolia 2006 Crown (Long-Eared Jerboa): (blackmountain.com photo) http://www.blackmountaincoins.com/p/BMC/c-MAMMAL-COINS/2005_MNG_00199.html Nepal 1974 50 Rupia (Red Panda): http://www.blackmountaincoins.com/p/BMC/c-MAMMAL-COINS/1974_NPL_05932.html Peru 1966-1973 1/2 Sol (Vicuna): (worldcoingallery.com photo): http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...u km247 1/2 Sol (1966-1973)&query=Peru km 247 Poland 2006 2 Zlotych (Marmot): (blackmountaincoins.com photo): http://www.blackmountaincoins.com/p/BMC/c-MAMMAL-COINS/2006_POL_00219.html Russia 1992 10 Roubles (Amur Tiger): (blackmountaincoins.com photo): http://www.blackmountaincoins.com/p/BMC/c-MAMMAL-COINS/1992_RUS_00261.html Sierra Leone: All photos courtesy of blackmountaincoins.com 2005 Crown (Giraffe): http://www.blackmountaincoins.com/p/BMC/c-MAMMAL-COINS/2005_SLE_00176.html 2006 Crown (Chimpanzee): http://www.blackmountaincoins.com/p/BMC/c-MAMMAL-COINS/2006_SLE_00222.html 2006 Crown (Impala): http://www.blackmountaincoins.com/p/BMC/c-MAMMAL-COINS/2006_SLE_00223.html 2006 Crown (Lion): http://www.blackmountaincoins.com/p/BMC/c-MAMMAL-COINS/2006_SLE_00224.html Sudan 1976 5 Pounds (Hippopotamus): (blackmountaincoins.com photo): http://www.blackmountaincoins.com/p/BMC/c-MAMMAL-COINS/1976_SDN_05936.html Tuvalu 1994 $20 (Dugong aka Manatee): (blackmountaincoins.com photo): http://www.blackmountaincoins.com/p/BMC/c-MAMMAL-COINS/1994_TUV_08037.html UNITED STATES COINS: You know many of the USA's coins bear an Eagle on them, not because it's an endangered species, but becausae it's our National Symbol. The first American coin I choose as representative of this post's subject is the Five Cent coin bearing the American Bison (Buffalo) on it's reverse. By 1913, the year the first American Bison Nickel was minted, only 300 America Bison remained, 250 in Canada and 50 in Yellowstone National Park. (coinpage.com photo) http://www.coinpage.com/coin-image-499.html 1927 Vermont Sesquicentennial Half Dollar: (coinpage.com photos): Obverse: http://www.coinpage.com/coin-image-3619.html Reverse (Puma): http://www.coinpage.com/coin-image-3620.html 1936 Oakland Bay Bridge Commemorative Half Dollar (California Grizzly): (coinpage.com photo): http://www.coinpage.com/coin-image-444.html Zaire 1975 100 Zaires (Mobutu Leopard): (blackmountaincoins.com photo): http://www.blackmountaincoins.com/p/BMC/c-MAMMAL-COINS/1975_COD_05604.html Zambia 2003 5000 Kwacha (Elephant): (blackmountaincoins.com photo): http://www.blackmountaincoins.com/p/BMC/c-MAMMAL-COINS/2003_ZMB_00196.html There are literally thousands more coins featuring extinct, near-extinct, and endangered creatures on them including images of dinosauers. Hope you enjoyed the few you saw because of this article... Clinker
Ro randygeki... Forgive for not saying so sooner, but thanks for sharing your Ancient coin photos... Clinker
Pretty impressive. I'm kinda bummed about the carrier pigeon. Never knew they were extinct. Seems as though Canada has released quite a bit of coins commemorating extinct, near-extinct or endangered animals. I love the Canadian Bald Eagle coin, that is quite neat, and I might want to do a couple searches and pick one up. Thanks for the thread Clinker!
thanks for looking I posted the names finaly of the ones in my coin talk gallery. I'll put a full attribution of them sometime
The Canadian mint also has a series of dinosaur coins (talk about extinct!): http://www.mint.ca/store/coin/4-silver-coin-dromaeosaurus-2010-prod670014 http://www.mint.ca/store/coin/50cen...us-torosus-2010-prod870001?o_action=crossSell
Hi ikandiggit... Thanks for sharing the links. There are quite a few coins by a bunch of countries featuring dinosaurs, so I left those alone and went to those whose populations were effected by man. (There are many more of these too)... Clinker
