CIT bring the new banknote style coin format to gold with a Tanzanian Big Five set

Following on from the successful launch of their silver Skyline Dollars, Coin Invest Trust have taken the coin note concept into our other favourite precious metal – gold. Managing to stretch to the same cavernous 150 x 70 mm as the five-gram silver versions, this gold series amazingly manages to do so with just a single gram of the yellow metal.

A popular subject on modern numismatics, wildlife is featured on a broad range of formats and styles but certain themes do recur with greater regularity. The African Big Five is one such subject. Considered the five most dangerous animals on this rich continent for hunting on foot, each of them exudes power in their environment. The lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo are all quite capable of killing humans, especially the last one of those which seems to have a mean streak a mile wide.

The coin notes here are all issued for Tanzania and each of the five depicts an animal on the reverse face, framed by bands containing the denomination and issuer. The obverse is a common one that features giraffes and an acacia tree in silhouette. The denomination and issuer information is repeated here – something that differs from a standard coin. Plenty of geometric patterns adorn the backgrounds, just as you would expect on a normal printed banknote.

Released individually in a single issue, they make a relatively inexpensive and easy on the eye set of nature ‘coins’. The format lends itself well to good artwork, although less so for physical innovation. There’s only so much you can do with a piece of metal thinner than a gerbils eyebrow hair. Mintage is restricted to 1,500 of each and we’re not expecting further additions to what is a self-contained series.