2017 COLOUR SET
SILVER 2 X R 5 AND 2 X R 10 CROWN
PRESTIGE ISSUE
THE WESTERN CAPE BIOSPHERE RESERVE
2017
COLOUR SET
SILVER 2 X R 5 AND 2 X R 10 CROWN
PRESTIGE ISSUE
THE WESTERN CAPE BIOSPHERE RESERVE
Description:
The U N E S C O Man and the Biosphere programme has changed the way we interact with nature. In celebration of the rich diversity of the Kogelberg Biosphere, the South African Mint has, for the first time, launched a new colour range to showcase its staggering beauty. The range contains four sterling-silver 1oz crowns: two depicting the flora and two depicting the bird life of the unique U N E S C O Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve.
R 5 The Mature Starfish Lily
The Mature Startfish Lily, an alien-looking flower with its frilly edges, could easily be mistaken for an exotic sea creature. The fully opened creamy white flowers with brown ruffled edges and chocolate-brown to deep purple spots, highlighted with striking orange anthers. The plant has fleshy sword-like leaves and the flowers have a sweet aroma that reminds vaguely of vanilla. The reverse of this R5 coin features this flower of the Western Strandveld biome, along with its scientific name ‘Ferraria Crispa’ , the denomination ‘R5’, and the metal value ‘1 oz Ag 925 Cu 75’.
R 5 The Yellow Wine Cup
The yellow wine cup, which blooms in early spring, has deep creamy-yellow cups with dark red-brown centres. The flowers only open fully on hot, still days and are native to the seasonally wet flats of Darling in the Western Cape. This R5 coin depicts the yellow wine cup against the background of the renosterveld; along with its scientific name ‘Geissorhiza darlingensis’, the denomination ‘R5’, and the metal value ‘1 oz Ag 925 Cu 75’.
R 10 The Blue Crane
The blue crane is a truly dynamic bird. Its distinctive feathers stretch upward when it feels threatened or excited and its extended wing feathers, known as tertials, trail on the ground and are often mistaken for regal tail feathers. The R10 coin features the near-endemic national bird of South Africa imposingly spreading its wings. On the reverse is also the bird’s scientific name ‘Grus paradisea’, the denomination ‘R10’, and the metal value ‘1 oz Ag 925 Cu 75’.
R 10 The Caspian Tern
The Caspian tern, the largest of its kind, has a heavy coral-coloured bill that makes it easily identifiable and a fitting inclusion in the 2017 colour coin range. The R10 coin portrays the bird flapping its wings on the reverse. Also depicted on the coin are its scientific name ‘Hydroprogne caspia’, the denomination ‘R10’, and the metal value ‘1 oz Ag 925 Cu 75’.
