The currency of Mongolia since 1925 has been the tögrög, which currently circulates mostly as banknotes due to the low value of earlier coins and the reluctance of the government to issue large denomination coins; however, the government has authorised many non-circulating legal tender (NCLT) coins to be issued for collector's purposes.
Collector coins are dedicated to historical or general popular culture themes and are often not related to the country itself. Many of them are in standard bullion sizes, including the large three ounces of silver format.
The Magnificent Argali is the third design in the Wild Mongolia collection by CIT.
The mint says about it: The argali (Mongolian for ram) is the largest species of wild sheep that roams the highlands of western East Asia, the Himalayas, Tibet, and the Altai Mountains. They can stand up to 135 cm high and measuring up to 200 cm long. They are adapted to great cold, aridity and very high elevations up to 5800 m. Adult argali eat 16-19 kg of food a day, predominantly grass. The main predators of argali are Himalayan wolves and leopards. They are long-legged runners that escape predators primarily by speedy flight.
Argali are considered a near threatened species, due to domestic livestock ranching and hunting as the lure to gather a trophy specimen is strong among sports-hunters. They are hunted for both their meat and their horns, used in traditional Chinese medicine. Males have two large corkscrew shaped horns, some measuring 190 cm in total length and weighing up to 23 kg. Males use their horns for competing with each another. Females also carry horns, but they are much smaller. |