November 8, 2018 – Pobjoy Mint has released the final coin of the popular set of five coins featuring the five breeds of penguin that are resident on the Falkland Islands at some point during the course of the year. With over 1 million penguins nesting of the Islands, it is no wonder that the Falkland Islands is known as the penguin capital of the world!
Falkland Islands / 50 pence / cupro nickel / 8 g / 27.3 mm / Mintage: 7,500.
This new series of coins features close-up head shots of the five penguins that inhabit the Falkland Islands, each shown in glorious colour to enhance the detail. Pobjoy is also producing a new collector’s album to hold the set which sets the coins against a beautiful image of a group of King penguins and includes information on each breed.
The Southern Rockhopper Penguin is endemic to subantarctic waters. Photo: Samuel Blanc / CC BY-SA 3.0.
The smallest and most agile penguin in the Falkland Islands, the Southern Rockhopper is easily recognisable with its straight thin yellow eyebrows with yellow plumes hanging above and behind the eyes. Unlike other breeds of penguin who get around obstacles by sliding or awkward climbing, rockhoppers will try and jump over boulders and across cracks. The breed is classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature with the population declining by a third in the last three decades.
The coin features a headshot of this delightful penguin in fabulous colour which really highlights their special plumage. The obverse of the coin features the exclusive Pobjoy Mint effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
More information about this coin and other issues of the penguin series is available on the Pobjoy Mint website.
This short video clip by PBS provides some additional facts about the Southern Rockhopper Penguins.
The National Geographic has also published an article on the Southern Rockhopper Penguin.