The Ghanaian Cedi has been the currency of Ghana since 1965, when it replaced the pre-decimal Ghanaian Pound.
Apart from the regular circulating coinage, the country has also authorised some foreign mints to issue commemorative and bullion coins under its jurisdiction. These are typically in standard bullion sizes, including in the very large one kilogram of silver format (abbreviated as 1 kg Ag, where "Ag" comes from the Latin word for silver, Argentum).
The Irish Elk is the second design in the Giants of the Ice Age coin series, which features eight large pre-historic animals; each coin in the series was issued in three different formats. The series was produced by German company Auragentum, with the coins struck by Leipziger Edelmetallverarbeitung (a division of Geiger Edelmetalle).
The Irish Elk (Megaloceros giganteus), also called the Giant Deer, it is the largest of its type to ever exist and lived across whole swathes of Eurasia from Ireland to the Lake Baikal area of Siberia. Believed to have gone extinct around 7,500 years ago (the oldest dated remains are 7,700 years old). Despite the name, they are not related to modern elk, but more to Fallow Deer.
It stood about 2.1 m tall at the shoulders and carried the largest antlers of any known deer, a maximum of 3.65 m from tip to tip and 40 kg in weight. The animal weighed up to 700 kg, the heaviest known “Old World deer”. Based on Upper Palaeolithic cave paintings, the Irish elk seems to have had overall light colouration, with a dark stripe running along the back, a stripe on either side from shoulder to haunch, a dark collar on the throat and a chinstrap, and a dark hump between the shoulder blades. |
| Obverse | |
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The obverse of the coin shows at its centre the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Ghana. It has a a shield, quartered with a large cross in the middle; in the first quarter (upper left) is a sword used by traditional chiefs, and a staff used by the linguist (known as an okyeame in Akan), at ceremonies - a symbol for the traditional authority of Ghana; in the second quarter, a representation of Osu Castle on the sea, the presidential palace on the Gulf of Guinea, as a symbol of the national government; in the third quarter is a cocoa tree, a symbol of the agricultural wealth of Ghana; the fourth quarter shows a gold mine, which stands for the richness of industrial minerals and natural resources in Ghana.
A lion in the middle of St George's Cross represents the continuing link between Ghana and the Commonwealth of Nations. The crest is a Black Star of Africa. Supporting the shield are two Tawny eagles, with the Order of the Star of Ghana suspended from their necks. The compartment upon which the supporters stand is composed of a grassy field, under which a scroll bears the national motto of Ghana: FREEDOM AND JUSTICE.
In the exergue, the name of the country: REPUBLIC OF GHANA, below which the face value: 1000 CEDIS.
The rim around above is wide and is decorated with wide radial stripes. |
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| Reverse | |
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The reverse design depicts a giant Irish Elk walking to left, partly obscuring the rim below right.
Around above in the central circle, the name of the coin series: GIANTS OF THE ICE AGE.
On two lines below left, the metal content: 1 KG AG 999 (one kilogram of 99.9% silver; Ag is abbreviated from Argentum, the Latin word for silver).
Around below left, the unique serial number of each coin in the format [number] / 1000, followed by the date of issue 2019.
Around above, a common element of all designs in the series: eight pictograms representing each of the Giants of the Ice Age designs. The elk is the second of them and is highlighted by being incuse (cut into the surface) while the others are in relief. |
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