Apart from its regular circulating coinage, Solomon Islands has authorised a number of private mints to issue collector coins in precious metals, which are legal tender in the country but are not intended for general circulation. Many of them are in standard bullion sizes - typically, one ounce of silver (abbreviated as 1 oz Ag, where "Ag" comes from the Latin word for silver, Argentum). These are usually dedicated to historical or general popular culture themes not related to the country itself.
The Mint says about this coin: This stunning, selectively colourised reverse proof coin dedicated to the Giant Seahorse is the first release of PAMP Suisse's exciting Giants of the Galápagos series. Struck from 1 Troy oz. of .9999 fine silver, the coin is uniquely shaped, featuring the seahorse's head and tail extending beyond the coin's traditional circular edge.
The Giants of the Galápagos Islands series showcases the animals unique to these islands which were studies by Charles Darwin. The first coin, the Giant Seahorse, is commonly referred to as the Pacific Seahorse and is the only seahorse species found near the Galapagos Islands, in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. As seahorses tend to engage in monogamous mating and undergo lengthy embryonic development, they do not repopulate fast enough to keep up with over-harvesting by humans that harm their population. This exquisite coin, with elegant touches of colour has a limited mintage of 2,500 coins per issue and individually serialised. |
Obverse | |
The obverse of the coin shows the crowned mature head of Queen Elizabeth II facing right (her effigy known as the "Fourth Portrait"). The Queen wears the "Girls of Great Britain and Ireland" diamond tiara, a wedding gift from Queen Mary (Her Majesty's grandmother) in 1947 - which she also has on the Machin and the Gottwald portraits.
In small letters below the head, the artist's initials IRB (for Ian Rank-Broadley).
Around the effigy is the monarch's legend, the date of issue and the value: ELIZABETH II SOLOMON ISLANDS 2 DOLLARS 2020.
Above the portrait, a representation of a coral reef, continuing that from the reverse.
Below the date, the unique serial number of the coin. |
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