SOS Endangered Animal Species coin from Niue spotlights the plight of the Pygmy Hippo.

Despite seemingly being a ten-coin set released over little more than a year, the popularity of the Mint of Polands S.O.S. Endangered Animal Species was clearly great enough for the mint to continue it, if on a reduced release schedule. Earlier this year we saw the first new coin using the exact same design template and it featured the Asian Elephant. Big land mammals are where we stay for the second 2016 entrant.

The Pygmy Hippopotamus (Choeropsis Liberiensis) lives in the forests and wetlands in West Africa and is, as usual, endangered because of mans activities. Poaching, deforestation and the constant conflicts in the region have taken their toll on the Pygmy Hippo like they have on so many of the continents other species. It’s depressing how common this is today and by how underfunded efforts to prevent it really are.

The coin is another nice design. The small map with the magnifying glass over the region the animal comes from is present and correct, as is the coloured Swarovski Elements crystal inset within it. The inscriptions in Polish and English of the species name are in their usual place around the rim. Colour is limited to the animals alone, in this case an adult and calf, and the rest of the coin is filled with a cleanly struck habitat background.

Packaging of these uses the newer mint style of box and outer shipper which we like a lot. The rounded boxes of the original series have gone, about the only clear distinction between them. These are a little pricier than the average for the 17.5g weight of a coloured numismatic selling in the €70/$75 range. Mintage is down at 999 pieces and the packaging and design go some way to bumping up the value. Available now. We have a guide to the original series up in our Coin Series Profiles. If the subject matter is appealing to you, the NZ Mint have a coin available featuring the same animal.

The Mint of Poland is pleased to present a consecutive collector coin from the series “S.O.S. to the World – Endangered Animal Species”. This unique souvenir token featuring a pygmy hippopotamus (a smaller cousin of the well-known Nile hippo) reminds us about the fragile beauty of living things being on the verge of extinction.

The coin enchants with its silver gleams and precise finishing. Thanks to high-end digital printing, the images of pygmy hippos depicted on the reverse look extremely lifelike. Decorative surface in the background alludes to the swamps and marshes of Africa – the natural habitat of these herbivores. Gleaming with a beautiful emerald color, a SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS crystal shows the regional distribution of the species on the map of the world. The coin is accompanied by a specially designed presentation case, pleasantly decorated with the images of adorable pigmies.

Due to its nocturnal lifestyle and hard-to-reach feeding grounds, the pygmy hippopotamus has remained unknown for long, even in the West African countries. The pygmy hippo is only half as tall and weighs less than one-fourth as much as its larger Nile relative. In spite of his passion for mud baths, the pygmy hippo doesn’t have a liking for aquatic vegetation. It emerges from water at dusk to feed on ferns, fruits, grass and leaves. Unlike their huge cousins, these adorable animals are rather reclusive. The IUCN estimates that due to hunting and habitat destruction there are fewer than 3,000 pygmy hippos living in the wild.

REVERSE: In the central part of the coin – multi-colored images of pygmy hippos in their natural environment. Above, left-hand – contour of map showing regional distribution of the species. Along the rim – inscriptions separated by a decorative dot: HIPOPOTAM KARŁOWATY/PYGMY HIPPOPOTAMUS (name of the coin in Polish and English).

OBVERSE: In the central part of the coin – effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Below it – mint mark: m/w, hallmark: Ag 999. Along the rim – inscriptions separated by decorative dots: ELIZABETH II, NIUE ISLAND (issuer), 1 DOLLAR (face value), 2016 (year of issue).