Exotic Butterflies – Aporia crataegi

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June 22, 2017 – For Mongolia, Coin Invest Trust adorns the seventh issue in its successful Exotic Butterflies series with a true-to-life specimen of the black-veined white. This makes the series, which was issued by a different country every year, complete. It is the last issue in the series.
Like its predecessors, this coin creates a stunning contrast between the shining silver coin field and the colourfully fashioned flower with its high, smartminting©-technology relief, adorned by the three-dimensional black-and-white butterfly.  

Mongolia / 500 Togrog 2017 / Silver .999 / 25 g / 38.61 mm / Mintage: 2500.

The obverse features the coat of arms and the name of the issuing nation, as well as material, fine content, weight, and nominal value.
The reverse features a coloured three-dimensional butterfly. The coin surface is fashioned as a flower with colour elements. Plus, the inscription EXOTIC BUTTERLFIES and APORIA CRATAEGI.

An aporia crataegi male. Photo: Olaf Leillinger / CC BY-SA 3.0

The Aporia crataegi – from Africa to Japan

The Aporia crataegi butterfly belongs to the family of the Pieridae, the diurnal butterflies. One look suffices to realize how the animal, which can grow up to 8 cm, has come to its popular name “black-veined white”. While its wings are of a brilliant white, the males show additional black veins and a small black spot.
The habitat of the black-veined white, which preferably feeds on thistle and field flowers, extends from Europe to Japan. While it used to be a rare sight, its population has grown and is stable today. There are even occasional population irruptions like the ones registered in the Upper Rhine Plain between 1977 and 1988. 

The coin is minted by B. H. Mayer’s Kunstprägeanstalt, Munich.

For further information go to the Coin Invest Trust website.

You can watch a short documentary on the this butterfly on Youtube.

An identification help is also available online.