Gold Half Gram 2022 Extinct Predators - Smilodon, 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 Smilodon (Smilodon populator). It is a "companion coin" to the silver ounce with a similar design which was issued for Congo.

One of the most iconic prehistoric mammals, the Smilodon is best known as the Sabre-toothed Tiger, despite not being closely related to any modern species. It lived in the Americas during the Pleistocene epoch (2.5 million years ago to 10,000 years ago).

More robustly built than any extant cat, with particularly well-developed forelimbs and exceptionally long upper canine teeth, its jaw had a bigger gape than that of modern cats, and its upper canines were slender and fragile, adapted for precision killing. Of the three known species, Smilodon populator from South America was the largest, weighing 220 to 436 kg, and up to 1.2 m tall. In North America, Smilodon hunted large herbivores such as bison and camels, and is thought to have killed its prey by holding it still with its forelimbs and biting it.

Scientists debate whether Smilodon had a social or a solitary lifestyle; it probably lived in closed habitats such as forests and bush, which would have provided cover for ambushing prey.