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, such as one ounce of silver (abbreviated as 1 oz Ag, where "Ag" comes from the Latin word for silver, Argentum).
The Reindeer is the seventh 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 glacial-interglacial cycles of the upper Pleistocene had a major influence on the evolution of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and other Arctic and subarctic species. The oldest discovered reindeer fossil is an “antler of tundra reindeer type from the sands of Süssenborn” in the Pleistocene period (680,000 to 620,000 BP). By the 4-Würm period (110,000 - 70,000 to 12,000 - 10,000 BC) its European range was very extensive.
In most cervid species, only males grow antlers; the reindeer is the only cervid species in which females also grow them normally. In the largest subspecies, the antlers of large bulls can range up to 100 cm in width and 135 cm in beam length. They have the largest antlers relative to body size among living deer species. The colour of the fur varies considerably, both between individuals and depending on season and subspecies. Northern populations, which are usually relatively small, are whiter.
Reindeer are ruminants, having a four-chambered stomach. They mainly eat lichens in winter, especially reindeer lichen; they are the only large mammal able to metabolise it, owing to specialised bacteria and protozoa in their gut. |