January 23, 2014 – Following the popularity of previous Titanium coins, Pobjoy Mint has announced the release of a new Titanium coin for 2014 on behalf of the British Virgin Islands Government which features the seahorse.
British Virgin Islands / 5 $ / .990 Turquoise Titanium / 10.00gms / 36.10mm / Mintage: 5,000.
The obverse of the coin features an effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS.
The design on the coin features a beautiful seahorse with its tail entwined around some coral. The coin has been produced in Turquoise Titanium and is also available in Cupro Nickel and Proof Sterling Silver. Titanium is exceptionally difficult to strike and each coin is truly unique as no Titanium coin is exactly the same as another. There is also a lined effect that is present on the coins which is also unique to Titanium metal.
“Seahorse” is the title given to 54 species of marine fish in the genus Hippocampus which comes from the Ancient Greek hippos meaning “horse” and kampos meaning “sea monster”. Seahorses are found in shallow tropical and mild waters throughout the world. Seahorses prefer to live in sheltered areas such as seagrass beds, estuaries and coral reefs.
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Potbelly Seahorses at Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga, TN, USA. Photo: Joanne Merriam / http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
Seahorses range in size from 1.5cm to 35.5cm and are named for their equine appearance. Although they are bony fish they do not have scales as other fish do. Instead they have a thin skin which is stretched over a series of bony plates which are arranged in rings throughout their body. Each species has a distinct number of rings. Seahorses swim upright and, unusual amongst fish, seahorses have a flexible, well-defined neck. They also have a coronet on the head which is distinct for each individual. The Seahorse feeds on small crustaceans which float in the water or crawl on the bottom of the sea bed. With their excellent camouflage and a lot of patience, they can ambush prey that float within striking range.
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Pobjoy Mint already released a blue titanium coin featuring the blue whale. You can read all about it in this CoinsWeekly article.