Gold Ounce 2018 Flamingo, Coin from Saint Lucia - detailed information

Saint Lucia is a sovereign island country in the Caribbean which uses the Eastern Caribbean Dollar (EC$) as its currency; it is the common currency of six independent states and two British Overseas Territories. The EC$ has both common and national issues. All common circulating coins are issued under the authority of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank and have no issuing country specified on them. Separately, each member country can also strike coins bearing its national symbols; these coins are legal tender in all members states, and are usually commemorative or bullion not intended for general circulation. Most of the member states share the same monarch with the United Kingdom, so that the effigy of the monarch is displayed on the coins and banknotes of the currency.

Saint Lucia has authorised some foreign mints to strike coins under its issuing authority for collector's purposes. Some of these are in popular bullion formats, such as one troy ounce (1 oz) of gold.

This coin is part of the Eastern Caribbean 8 (EC8) series of premium bullion coins by the Scottsdale Mint, which has a new annual design for each country of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The series started in 2018, and the first edition for Saint Lucia features two Flamingos.

The American flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) is a large species of flamingo closely related to the greater flamingo and Chilean flamingo native to the Neotropics. It is also known as the Caribbean flamingo, although it is also present in the Galápagos Islands. It is the only flamingo that naturally inhabits North America.