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Falklands: Life Cycle of Butterfly

Started by Bimat, January 25, 2012, 08:57:42 AM

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Bimat

Falklands announces 2012 first collector coin: Life cycle of the butterfly

Wednesday, January 25th 2012 - 07:39 UTC

The Treasury of the Falkland Islands Government announced the launch of their first collector coin for 2012, which features the Life Cycle of the Butterfly.

Struck by the Pobjoy Mint in the United Kingdom, this coin is the fifth in the Silver & Crystal coin series first issued in 2007 featuring the life cycle of various species in the animal kingdom from their inception to fully grown adulthood.

The outer silver ring of this innovative coin depicts the incredible journey of the Butterfly from egg to mature adult and in the center is a beautifully polished orange crystal upon which is the etched image of the Southern Painted Lady Butterfly appears.

A butterfly starts life as a very small egg which is usually laid on the leaves of plants. The second stage is the Larva or Caterpillar stage, a stage which does not usually last long and during which time the caterpillar spends most of its time eating. The next stage is the Pupa or Chrysallis stage and inside this chrysalis the caterpillar is undergoing an amazing transformation.

Finally, when the caterpillar has fully changed, it emerges from the chrysalis as an adult butterfly. All of the stages described are intricately detailed in their order on the outer ring, while the image of the adult butterfly is carefully etched on the orange-colored crystal transparent center.

The obverse of the coin includes a cameo portrait of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II placed above the crystal along with the text "QUEEN ELIZABETH II FALKLAND ISLANDS" placed around the outer rim.

Struck in sterling silver to proof quality, the coin has a diameter of 38.6 mm and a weight of 23.4 grams. A limited quantity of 5,000 pieces is authorized for distribution.

Source: Merco Press

It is our choices...that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. -J. K. Rowling.

Figleaf

Collector? :o No real collector would touch them. These precious artifacts of local culture and heritage belong in the Falklands, where they will facilitate tax collection and binge drinking.

I hear the Falkland sheep are big on crystal, while the penguins love silver. Both will be overjoyed that butterflies will be imported to the islands to compete with the patrolling fighter aircraft. What a fitting coin ::)

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

<k>

What's interesting is that this collector coin, like so many, has a diameter of 38.6 mm. Now, that is the diameter of the old British crown, originally five shillings, later 25 pence. The UK's collector five pound coins are now issued with that diameter. I wondered about the significance of the 38.6mm and thought it must equate to an exact integer in inches. Not so: 38.6mm = 1.51968504 inches.  So this traditional diameter must have been copied from some continental coin of previous centuries. According to Wikipedia:

"The crown is one of many silver coins that appeared in various countries from the 16th century onwards (the most famous example perhaps being pieces of eight), all of which were of a similar size and weight (approx 38mm diameter and containing approx 25 grams of fine silver) and thus interchangeable in international trade."

Comments?
Visit the website of The Royal Mint Museum.

See: The Royal Mint Museum.

Figleaf

The US dollar traded at a rate of just below 5 shillings at introduction and the dollar was originally equal to the Mexican dollar, which was a lightweight variant of the Spanish 8 reales. During the Napoleonic wars, the Maria Theresa "dollar" replaced the 8 reales in some areas in Africa and Western Asia.

That Spanish 8 reales was for centuries the international money of account as well as a generally accepted reserve money. Prior to the 1820's, many UK colonies used "Spanish dollars", rather than UK money (except in government accounts), including Gibraltar, the American plantations, the Caribbean Islands, Latin American colonies, Sub-saharan African colonies (where the MT dollar took over from Spanish coin in the Eastern part) and South-East Asia. Similarly, the 8 reales was the reference money in parts of China, Japan, Indonesia and Brazil. In that sense, some three quarters of the world used it, or a similar coin, as money. Coins like the silver rider, the UK and US trade dollar and anchor money are nothing more than (mostly failed) attempts to grab market share from Spain and its colonies.

Since USD has taken over as international reserve money, there is no longer any reason to strike 8 reales stand-in "coins".

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

<k>

"8 REALES - a Piece of 8, or Eight "Bits"(a "Cob"), coin is equivalent to American 1 DOLLAR or 1 PESO, DIAMETER: 38.8 mm - 39.9 mm".

So I wonder why the British settled on 38.6mm and stuck to it religiously?
Visit the website of The Royal Mint Museum.

See: The Royal Mint Museum.

Figleaf

Newton as mint master wrote fat reports on the 8 reales, showing that it is not one beastie, but at least three: Spain, Bolivia and Mexico (in decreasing order of weight) The Brits took Bolivia as standard, the Americans Mexico. See your threads on Newfoundland coins.

During the British golden age (about 1815 to about 1925), the country became hyper-conservative and traditional. This is normal for countries that dominate much of the planet. It happened to Spain before and to the US afterwards. If you are at the top of the dung heap, the very last thing you want is change. So it is with the crown: originally a light-weight Spanish 8 reales variant, it became a standard by itself, even while the Spanish coin lost value.

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

villa66

Quote from: Figleaf on January 25, 2012, 02:27:59 PM
The US dollar traded at a rate of just below 5 shillings at introduction and the dollar was originally equal to the Mexican dollar...

Quite a trick, since there was no "Mexican dollar" until some years after the dollar was introduced.

:) v.

villa66

Quote from: Figleaf on January 25, 2012, 02:49:30 PM
Newton as mint master wrote fat reports on the 8 reales, showing that it is not one beastie, but at least three: Spain, Bolivia and Mexico (in decreasing order of weight) The Brits took Bolivia as standard, the Americans Mexico...

The Americans used not "Mexico," or even the Spanish-American 8-reales circulating in Mexico, but a random sample of the Spanish-American 8-reales that were then in circulation in the United States. Which, as we've discussed earlier, is the reason for the slightly reduced silver weight of the American dollar as compared to the contemporary Spanish-American "dollar."

:) v.