Dutch coin producer Numiscollect, known for such popular series as Sacred Art, Sea Treasures, and The Crusades, has always been an experimenter in the numismatic world, much like their counterparts in Liechtenstein, Coin Invest Trust. Never afraid to try something new and unusual, an ethos like that sometimes throws up something that truly stands out from the norm. One such case was back in early 2014 when they launched the first coin in a series entitled Animals in Glass. The use of glass windows is nothing new in modern commemorative coins, but what made the Glasswing Butterfly coin such a success was the way the insert was so expertly used to form part of the artwork on the two different faces of the coin, and not look compromised in any way.
There hasn’t been a second coin released until today, with the announcement of the Townsends Big-eared Bat. Carrying on the idea of having the insert form an integral part of two different pieces of art, we think Numisollect have again done a quite superb job with this coin. The reverse side shows a bat in flight, almost flying out of the coin, surrounded by some stylistic representations of the bat in various poses, all enhanced with just a small amount of colour, certainly nothing excessive. The obverse again has a bat in flight, but this time flying across the coin, and set against a very detailed strike of a cave environment, the bats natural home. It’s quite excellent how the same glass wing is used so well in the two images.
The coin is square, although in a diamond-style orientation, and issued for Palau, a Numiscollect favourite. Like the first coin, this one comes boxed and with a Certificate of Authenticity. It’s good to see the company, and CIT for that matter, transition to some nice packaging for their coins, as both used to provide just a coin capsule and a plastic bag for the CoA. The coin has 2016 as its date of issue, so no 2015 coin looks to be coming, but that isn’t really important. One that collectors of nature coins will really want to take a good look at, especially with a mintage limited to just 999 units. A really fine effort and the coin will be available in February.
MINTS DESCRIPTION
Unique series with glass colored wing insert. Second issue with the Bat. Now in .999 silver.
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, can only glide for short distances. Bats do not flap their entire forelimbs, as birds do, but instead flap their spread-out digits, which are very long and covered with a thin membrane or patagium.
TOWNSEND’S BIG-EARED BAT
Townsend’s big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii) is a species of vesper bat and is a medium-sized bat with extremely long, flexible ears (hence the name), and small yet noticeable lumps on each side of the snout. Its total length is around 10 cm (4 in.), its tail being around 5 cm (2 in) Its wingspan is about 28 cm (11 in) It weighs around 7–12 g.
This bat’s diet may include small moths, flies, lacewings, dung beetles, sawflies, and other small insects. One report stated the species feeds almost exclusively on Lepidoptera moths. C. townsendii can be found in Canada, Mexico, and United States. This bat is often distributed near rocky areas where caves or abandoned mine tunnels are available. They may also occasionally inhabit old buildings. The average lifespan of a Townsend’s big-eared bat is 16 years.
COIN 01: GLASSWING BUTTERFLY
We reported on the first coin on its debut back in February 2014 and were very impressed with the innovative use of a single glass insert to integrate so well into two separate images. Usually the preserve of the architectural coin, especially Numiscollects own Sacred Art series, the first Animals in Glass coin was a real standout and we’re very glad to see the series continue after the extended hiatus.
The original coin was struck in 0.925 sterling silver. The new coin, and we’d assume any moving forward, are produced in 0.999 fine silver. The practical difference is minimal, although we know that many much prefer fine silver on their commemoratives.
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