With quite a few series from the New Zealand Mint having five or more entries, they’re starting to debut some new ones to potentially take over the role in the future. In the nature field, a hugely popular numismatic subject, the NZM has always maintained a pretty strong presence, and the debut of this new series, ‘Kings of the Continents’, indicates that’s going to continue. Described as portraying “some of the most dominant and revered animals on each continent.”, this new series is a one-ounce fine silver coin with selective colouring.
The first coin goes with an animal often called King of the Beasts, the African Lion, and the reverse side face of the coin depicts a coloured portrait of a roaring male looking out over a clean-struck savannah environment. It’s fair to say there are no surprises here, with this kind of coloured silver coin being a staple of all of the Antipodean mints, and while we have yet to see one in the hand, this looks better than many other recent coloured wildlife coins from mints down under. Price is a little lower than the Endangered Species series at $80.00 USD, and the packaging looks well realised also. The mintage limit of 5,000 is also par for the course, so a coin aimed perfectly at this type of collector. Available to pre-order now, it will ship from 22nd February.
MINTS DESCRIPTION
The African lion is the first animal to feature in our new “Kings of the Continents” coin collection, which will portray some of the most dominant and revered animals on each continent.
The African lion is one of the two sub-species of lions in the world today. Their living habitat extends from the south Saharan desert to parts of southern and eastern Africa, where they inhabit grassy plains, savannahs and scrublands. The rough landscapes and long grass allow the hunting female lions to silently creep up on and ambush their unsuspecting prey. Their diet consists of a wide variety of prey such as wildebeest, impala, zebra, giraffe and buffalo as well as smaller animals such as hares, birds and reptiles.
Male lions are usually larger than females in size and have a distinctive mane of hair around their heads. A male lion can measure up to 6.5 feet (2 m.) in length from its head to its rump and weigh up to 420 lbs. (191 kg’s).
African lions are the only cats which have close-knit and affectionate social groups and the only ones that regularly hunt in groups. A typical African lion pride consists of approximately 15 members; one to three males, around a dozen females, and their cubs and young ones. It is not unusual to see expressions of fondness amongst African lions in the form of head-rubbing, licking, touching and purring.
Fact: The roar of a lion can carry a distance of up to 8 km.
REVERSE: This high impact 1 oz coin shows a snarling male African Lion in full colour, standing proudly against a backdrop of southern African grasslands.
OBVERSE: This features the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
PACKAGING: The coin is encased in an elegant themed box which slides open to reveal the coin nestled in a black velvet interior. The uniquely numbered certificate of authenticity sits within the packaging.
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