The Natural History Museum and The Royal Mint have launched their fourth collection of coins today (Monday 21 October) – adding Ice Age Giants to the Tales of the Earth collaboration.
The new trio of coins, made up of a steppe mammoth, a woolly rhinoceros and a giant deer, celebrate some of the largest mammals to exist during this period of history.
The first of the coins to be released features Mammuthus trogontherii, also known as the steppe mammoth. This extinct species of herbivore was one of the largest Mammoths ever to live – even bigger than the elephants today – and had an average shoulder height of four metres and weighed an average of 10 tonnes.
The three-part collection also features the woolly rhinoceros and giant deer on specially curated coins, which are due to be released later this year. Each has been brought back to life by renowned British paleo-artist Robert Nicholls, with expert guidance from paleobiologist Professor Adrian Lister at the Natural History Museum.
“We are thrilled to continue working with our licensing partner The Royal Mint on the Tales of the Earth series,” commented Maxine Lister, head of licensing at Natural History Museum. “After the success of our first three collections, we are delighted to be able to shine a light on some of the incredible species that thrived during the Ice Age, also known as the Pleistocene Epoch which began around 2.6 million years ago.
“We hope that this collection will help all, young and old, to be inspired by the wonder of our natural world.”
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