Silver Half Ounce 2013 Deep Sea Fish - Eurypharynx Pelecanoides, Coin from Pitcairn Islands - detailed information

The Pitcairn Islands is a non-sovereign British overseas territory in the Pacific Ocean. Having a population of fewer than fifty people, the territory has no need for local coinage and uses the New Zealand dollar as a medium of exchange. Pitcairn Islands began issuing its first commemorative coins in 1988. Though the Pitcairn Islands dollar is not a true currency in the strict sense of the word and is not used as a circulation coinage, it can be lawfully exchanged as tender and is considered a variety of the New Zealand dollar (although it is not legal tender in New Zealand). The Pitcairn Islands dollar exists only because of the coin collecting market, which provides a major staple for the tiny island nation.

The coins are struck by various foreign mints and use internationally popular formats, such as the half ounce (1/2oz) of silver. Some of them are released at prices much higher than their intrinsic value - such as this one - so are classified as Non-Circulating Legal Tender (NCLT) (for those sold at a low margin, see the bullion silver half ounce section instead).

The Eurypharynx Pelecanoides coloured silver coin is part of a series issued for the Pitcairn Islands which features Marine Life.

The pelican eel, Eurypharynx pelecanoides, is a deep-sea fish rarely seen by humans, though it is occasionally caught in fishing nets. It is an eel-like fish and the only known member of the genus Eurypharynx and the family Eurypharyngidae. It belongs to the order Saccopharyngiformes, which is closely related to the true eels in Anguilliformes. It is also sometimes referred to as the umbrella-mouth gulper (eel). The specific epithet "pelecanoides" refers to the pelican, as the fish’s large mouth is reminiscent of that of the bird.