Silver Ounce 2023 African Ounce - Gorilla, Coin from Rwanda - detailed information

The Rwandan Franc was introduced as the currency of Rwanda in 1964. Apart from its regular circulating coinage, the country has also authorised some foreign mints to issue coins under its jurisdiction, which come in a variety of sizes - including in the internationally popular silver ounce (1 oz silver) format, denominated usually as 50 Francs. Like any bullion coin though, their actual value is unrelated to the face value, and is based primarily on the metal content and the spot price of that metal on the commodities markets.

This coin is part of the African Ounce series which features a new animal on the reverse every year, and marks the 15th anniversary of the series by featuring the original Gorilla design, first issued in 2008.

Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus Gorilla is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla. The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of humans, from 95 to 99% depending on what is included, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after chimpanzees and bonobos.

Gorillas are the largest living primates, reaching heights between 1.25 and 1.8 metres, weights between 100 and 270 kg, and arm spans up to 2.6 metres, depending on species and sex. They tend to live in troops, with the leader being called a silverback. The Eastern gorilla is distinguished from the Western by darker fur colour and some other minor morphological differences. Gorillas tend to live 35 - 40 years in the wild.