Gold Half Gram 2023 Extinct Predators - Thylacinus Cynocephalus, 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 Thylacinus Cynocephalus - the "Tasmanian Tiger". It is a "companion coin" to the silver ounce with a similar design which was issued for Congo.

The thylacine is an extinct carnivorous marsupial that was native to the Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea. The last known live animal was captured in 1930 in Tasmania. It is commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger (because of its striped lower back) or the Tasmanian wolf (because of its canid-like characteristics).

The thylacine was relatively shy and nocturnal, with the general appearance of a medium-to-large-size canid, except for its stiff tail and abdominal pouch similar to that of a kangaroo. Because of convergent evolution, it displayed an anatomy and adaptations similar to the tiger and wolf of the Northern Hemisphere, such as dark transverse stripes that radiated from the top of its back, and a skull shape extremely similar to those of canids, despite being unrelated.

The thylacine was a formidable apex predator, though exactly how large its prey animals were is disputed. The thylacine was one of only two marsupials known to have a pouch in both sexes. The mature thylacine ranged from 100 to 130 cm long, plus a tail of 50 to 65 cm. Adults stood about 60 cm at the shoulder and weighed 12 to 22 kg, though they could range anywhere from 8 to 30 kg.