Chinese lunar Fan-shaped coin collection

Face value: 5 €
Diameter: 34 mm
Weight: 19.1 g
Metal: Brass
Mintage: 35,000

3. coin from the series “Fauna and Flora of Slovakia”.

Obverse:
The obverse of this euro collector coin shows a lynx kitten on the left side and an adult lynx on the right side. Below the adult are the mint mark of the Kremnica Mint (Mincovňa Kremnica), consisting of the letters ‘MK’ placed between two dies, and the stylised letters ‘TL’, referring to the obverse designer Tomáš Lamač. The name of the issuing country ‘SLOVENSKO’ and the year of issuance ‘2022’ are inscribed along the upper left edge and part of the upper right edge. Below them is the Slovak coat of arms. The denomination and currency ‘5 EURO’ appear in the lower part of the design, above two lynx paw prints at the bottom edge.

Reverse:
On the reverse, filling the left and centre of the design, is a lynx’s head in profile. To the right of the image, on two lines, is the lynx’s scientific name ‘LYNX LYNX’, and below it are the stylised letters ‘LR’, referring to the designer of the reverse side Roman Lugár. Inscribed along the lower right edge is the lynx’s name in Slovak ‘RYS OSTROVID’.

‘The tiger of our forests’, ‘the phantom’: these are names that have been given to Slovakia’s largest wild cat, the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx). As an adult, the male weighs 24 kg on average and the female around 4 kg less. In the wild, the lynx can live for up to 17 years. The lynx’s particularly typical and unmistakeable features include tufts of hair on its ears, a black-spotted coat, and bobbed tail. It has excellent eyesight (as referenced in the second part of its Slovak name ‘rys ostrovid’) and superb hearing, but a less developed sense of smell. Generally living and hunting individually, the lynx is agile and can jump well and far. The lynx is in fact a very shy animal that never attacks humans. In the past, the lynx was hunted by the nobility for its valuable pelt and its claws were used in folk medicine. It used to be severely persecuted and was almost hunted out of the territory of what is now Slovakia, surviving until today only in small numbers in the central northern part and in the Eastern Carpathians. Since 1999 the lynx has had year-round protected status in Slovakia. As well as being a treasure of the country’s natural heritage, lynxes in Slovakia are also a source population for efforts to strengthen the species’ presence in other European countries.

Materiall: CuNi
Weight: 9g
Diameter: 26,9 mm
Mintage: 100 000

It is the third coin issued as part of the “Wonderful world of insects” series, which will see a total of nine coins with partially coloured motifs issued over the period 2022-24. The series is intended to bring into focus – especially in light of current developments (insect extinction) – a special group of animals that make up a significant part of our natural heritage.

The €5 collectors’ coin “Swallowtail” is made of a cupronickel alloy. It weighs 9.68 g, measures 27.25 mm in diameter and will be available both in mint condition and with a proof-like finish. The mint condition coins will be brought into circulation at their face value (€5). The collector quality coins with a proof-like finish will be higher than their face value and will be issued by the Münze Deutschland (Germany’s official sales agency for collector coins).

The coin was designed by Bastian Prillwitz, an artist based in Berlin (picture side), and Andre Witting, a Berlin-based artist (reverse).

The reverse, which will be used for all coins in the series, features an eagle, the words “BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND”, the value and denomination, the year 2023, the twelve stars of Europe and the letter “G” for the State Mint of Karlsruhe.

Its smooth edge is engraved with the inscription: “WUNDERWELT INSEKTEN” (WONDERFUL WORLD OF INSECTS).

Denomination: 0,25 €
Alloy: Cupro-nickel Nordicgold
Weight: 15,8 g
Diameter: 34 mm
Quality Brilliant Uncirculated
Year: 2024

Surrounded by plum blossom, a popular symbol in Chinese history, art, and lanterns, the dragon’s depiction appeals to children. The inscription 'Year of the dragon’ and the yeardate appear at the center of the coin. The ideogram of the dragon appears below. On the reverse side, all the animals of the Chinese zodiac are drawn in a cartoon-like way around the Ying and Yang symbol. A complete cycle of the Chinese zodiac will be composed from 2018 to 2029

Materiall: CuNi
Weight: 9g
Diameter: 26,9 mm
Mintage: 100 000


The German government has decided to mint a €5 collectors’ coin entitled “Great green bush-cricket", to be issed at 7 March 2024. It is the sixth coin issued as part of the “Wonderful world of insects” series, which will see a total of nine coins with partially coloured motifs issued over the period 2022-24. The series is intended to bring into focus – especially in light of current developments (insect extinction) – a special group of animals that make up a significant part of our natural heritage.

The coin motif, designed by the artist Detlef Behr from Cologne, shows an ideal male stag beetle in the style of a precise scientific illustration, in which all morphological details are correctly worked out. The typical black-brown coloring shows the beetle and its characteristic feature, the enlarged upper jaw (Mandibles), effectively emphasized. Idealized oak leaves and acorns in the background provide a subtle reference to the beetle's habitat and allude to the great importance of oak trees for the development of the larvae. The sans-serif lettering on the left edge of the coin forms a part of the composition balanced counterweight to the motif. The value side is identical for all coins in the series. The design, designed by artist Andre Witting from Berlin, impresses with a dignified yet dynamic representation of the federal eagle.

Face valie 0,5 AUD
Metal: copper/nickel
Weight: 15,37 g
Diameter: 31,51 mm
Mintage: unlimited