Pobjoy Mint announces the release of the second coin in their African Animal Masks Series II. The second coin features the hippo. Issued on behalf of Sierra Leone, this new series has been produced in Virenium.
Africa is home to an abundance of wildlife, including some of the world’s most famous fauna. These unique and incredible animals are impressive in their own right and should you be lucky enough to witness them in their natural habitat, it will remain with you for years to come. Unfortunately, as the result of poaching and hunting the chances of sighting these magnificent beings in action is rapidly diminishing, with 27% of the world’s endangered animals residing in Africa alone.
Many years ago, Africa posed as a welcoming habitat for its residents, with hundreds of thousands of carnivorous mammals wandering in nearly every region of the continent. However, today only a fraction of them remain, their once large territory has been reduced to only a few protected regions and they are under constant threat.
The design of the second coin features the head of a hippo styled as though it is an African mask with a special incused rim of which features an African pattern to continue the theme along with the animal’s name and value. Considered to be one of the most dangerous animals in Africa, hippos are highly aggressive animals, especially when in water. Despite being territorial over water and spending most of their day submerged, they cannot breathe underwater and so have to resurface every 3-5 minutes to breathe; they even do this whilst sleeping!
The name ‘hippopotamus’ comes from the Ancient Greek meaning ‘river horse’ and despite closely resembling more of a large pig, the hippo’s closest living relatives are whales and porpoises. Yet even with its stocky shape and short legs, it can still easily outrun most humans.
In the wild, hippos have an average life span of around 40 years, but this increases to around 50 years in captivity. In the wild, they usually live in herds of around 10-20 individuals, led by one dominant male, with all other members being female, their young, or a few young non-breeding males.
Sub-Saharan Africa provides the most incredible opportunities for wildlife sightings, with an extremely varied mixture of animals across the continent. With such diversity of wildlife, Africa holds the titles for the biggest animals, the most dangerous animals, the fastest animals, the strongest animals, the most elusive animals, and so on. Therefore, it seems only right to depict some more of these iconic animals on a brand new six coin series.
This brand new series will feature the following African Animals: Giraffe, Hippo, Antelope, Baboon, Zebra, and Warthog. The obverse of all coins will bear the Coat of Arms of Sierra Leone.
Presentation
The Virenium coin is presented in a capsule. A Series II collectors album is also available, sold separately.
Coin Specifications
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