Gold Half Gram 2022 Extinct Predators - Pteranodon, Coin from Senegal - detailed information

Senegal uses the West African CFA Franc as its circulation currency, together with seven other states in West Africa which make up the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA; Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine): Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger and Togo. The currency is issued by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO; Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest), and - unlike for example the Euro - its coins are not marked with an individual country of issue.

Some of the member countries however issue non-circulating collector and commemorative coinage, which Senegal has been doing since 1968. Some of these coins are in the internationally popular half gram (0.5g) of gold mini-coin collector format - such as this one.

This coin is part of the the Extinct Predators Series, and is dedicated to the Pteranodon. It is a "companion coin" to the silver ounce with a similar design which was issued for Congo.

Pteranodon is a genus of pterosaur that included some of the largest known flying reptiles, with wingspans over 7 meters. They lived during the late Cretaceous period of North America. More fossil specimens of Pteranodon have been found than any other pterosaur, with about 1,200 specimens known to science, many of them well-preserved with nearly complete skulls and articulated skeletons.

Pteranodon was a pterosaur, meaning that it isn’t a dinosaur, but were the largest flying animals known until the late 20th century, when the giant azhdarchid pterosaurs were discovered. The wingspan of an average adult male was 5.6 meters, with females averaging 3.8 meter. The wing shape of Pteranodon suggests that it would have flown rather like a modern-day albatross.

Pteranodon had toothless beaks, similar to those of birds, made of solid, bony margins that projected from the base of the jaws. The beaks were long, slender, and ended in thin, sharp points. The most distinctive characteristic of Pteranodon is its cranial crest, consisting of skull bones projecting upward and backward from the skull. The diet of Pteranodon is known to have included fish.