Evolution of Life – Synapsida / Edaphosaurus
Mongolia. 500 Togrog. 2022. Silver .999. 1 oz. 38.61 mm. Antique finish. Mintage: 999. Special technology: smartminting® (High Relief), partial gilding. B. H. Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt, Munich.
Mongolia. 1,000 Togrog. 2022. Gold .9999. 0.5 g. 11 mm. Proof. Mintage: 15,000. B. H. Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt, Munich.
Description of the Coin
One side depicts the front part of an Edaphosaurus skeleton with the distinctive sail on its back on a rough surface with structures that are reminiscent of Permian flora. On the left, the group name SYNAPSIDA; on the right PERMIAN PERIOD; below EVOLUTION / of Life / 2022.
The other side features the coat of arms of the Bank of Mongolia, below in Cyrillic script 500 Togrog, in the exergue in Latin script MONGOLIA 1 oz .999 SILVER.
One side of the small gold coin shows the same design with adapted legend, i.e. 1000 Togrog and MONGOLIA 0.5 g .9999 GOLD; the other side presents the head and the ribcage of the same fossil, above Edaphosaurus, below a small ammonite and 2022 / EVOLUTION.
Background
With Synapsida, CIT presents its eighth issue of the Evolution of Life series in 2022. It shows the remains of an Edaphosaurus, a lizard that inhabited Europe and North America from the Upper Carboniferous to the Lower Permian – about 318 to 271 million years ago. Its most impressive feature was a sail on its back, a gigantic flap of skin that stretched across the long spinous processes, optically enlarging the lizards, which were about three meters long. The spinous processes are spectacularly highlighted on both the silver and the small gold versions.
Since 2015, connoisseurs have been impressed by the technical finesse of the silver coins of the Evolution of Life series. Particularly captivating is the coins’ distinctive surface with high relief and antique finish. It imitates a natural background on which the fossil remains are carved out by means of distinctive smartminting high-relief technology with partial gilding. In 2022, the background became even more elaborate. It shows rock cracks and imprints of Permian flora.
The small gold coin is a little marvel, too. Thanks to modern minting technology, it appears to be monumental. Its depiction focuses on the skull and the distinctive sail on the Edaphosaurus’s back, whose function is still disputed among scientists.
What is not disputed is the fact that one group of the Synapsida clade still dwells on Earth today: mammals.
Further Information
www.cit.li/coins/synapsida-evolution-of-life
www.cit.li/coins/golden-edaphosaurus-evolution-of-life
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CoinWeek Podcast #155: Ultra-Modern Coins Take Over
Mobile phone users. Stream this podcast for free by downloading the podomatic app or subscribe to the CoinWeek Podcast on iTunes.
In this episode of the CoinWeek Podcast, we have a lively, interesting, and provocative conversation with Chang Bullock and Orlando Lorenzana of CIT, where we talk about how ultra-modern coins (or postmodern coins, as we call them) have taken over the contemporary coin market and how CIT’s innovations in color and coin minting technology are changing the game for private and sovereign mints.
You cannot walk away from this podcast without learning something about the way minting has changed–and has always been changing throughout the course of monetary history–and we hope it will give you a clearer picture of where we are heading.
