Numiscollect continues its Rare Wildlife series with the same format as 2016 Black Panther

Last July, Dutch coin producer Numiscollect launched a new coin in its Rare Animals series that differed greatly from the three coins that preceded it. Originally produced in a diamond-shaped format, the 2016 coin changed that completely by going to a round format and employing a new colour technique where no colour had existed before. That coin was the Black Panther and was a fine example of the ever-popular nature coin.

Struck in two ounces of fine silver and issued for the African state of Tanzania, this years release maintains the design ethos of the Black Panther as well as a close match on the subject matter, big cats. The Royal Bengal Tiger is about as impressive an animal as you’re ever liable to see. A powerful predator, the tiger is perfectly captured on the reverse face of Numiscollects latest. Depicting a close up of a tigers face with bared teeth, it’s a dynamic piece. The colouring technique that lets the underlying silver show through in a subtle way gave the panther coin an added depth that we fully expect to see with this design as well.

While there are plenty of inscriptions on this face, they’re incredibly well hidden by the simple technique of just colouring them in and making them integral to the artwork. Comprising the subjects name in latin and english, along with a very nice series logo, it’s probably the best camouflaging of text we’ve seen to date. The obverse features the Tanzanian emblem which seems perfectly suite to the subject matter, despite the tiger not being African. Just the state name and denomination are inscribed here and the whoile thing is attractive enough.

The coin will come boxed with a certificate of authenticity and will ship in the May-June timeframe. First Coin and PowerCoin will no doubt get these in stock and it should be up for pre-order shortly. We liked the Black Panther coin and fully expect to be impressed with this once in hand. That was selling for circa €200 / $200 and we fully expect this to be in the same ballpark.

2017 ROYAL BENGAL TIGER PROOF SILVER COIN

MINTS DESCRIPTION

A new issue featuring the Bengal Tiger in this hitselling series now with improved ultra high relief. Coloring with shiny silver coming through. The fur shines in the sun! 2 ounces pure silver and a low mintage will make this a sell out.

The Bengal Tiger is the national animal of both India and Bangladesh. The Bengal tiger’s coat is yellow to light orange, with stripes ranging from dark brown to black; the belly and the interior parts of the limbs are white, and the tail is orange with black rings. Fewer as 2500 species are still living in the wild today making the Bengal Tiger endangered.

DETAIL OF THE RELIEF AND COLOUR APPLICATION

THE ROYAL BENGAL TIGER

The Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris), while the most numerous tiger subspecies, is nevertheless listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. There are reports that the population is growing after serious conservation efforts, but numbers likely remain below just 2,500 wild animals in India, with further numbers around 500 in Bangladesh, 250 in Nepal and 100 in Bhutan. India and Bangladesh consider it their national animal.

Huge predators, males have an average total length of 270 to 310 cm including the tail, with females around 10-15% smaller. The tail is around 85-110 cm in length and tigers stand on average 90-110 cm in height at the shoulders.  Males can weigh 180-258 kg (females 100-160 kg. Bengal canine teeth are the longest amongst the big cats, ranging from 7.5-10 cm in length. Tigers have been recorded at 325 kg and 320 cm in length without the tail, incredibly impressive predators. The Bengal tiger’s coat is yellow to light orange, with stripes ranging from dark brown to black; the belly and the interior parts of the limbs are white, and the tail is orange with black rings.

Tigers prefer hunting large ungulates, but frequently kill wild boar. They will sometimes take small prey such as porcupines, hares and peafowl, or rarely much larger prey like adult elephants and rhinoceroses. Even other predators including leopards, wolves, jackals, foxes and crocodiles can appear on the menu, especially if injured, old or weak.  They will consume large amounts after a kill, often 18-40 kg of meat. Prey is stalked and taken from a close as possible where they grasp the prey’s throat to kill it.

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SPECIFICATION

NAME 2017 ROYAL BENGAL TIGER
DENOMINATION 1500 Francs CFA
COMPOSITION 0.999 silver
WEIGHT 62.2 grams
DIAMETER 50.0 mm
FINISH Proof
MODIFICATIONS Colour
MINTAGE 999
BOX / COA Yes / Yes

ACTUAL COIN IMAGE 03

MINT LINK