Anyone have or seen a reptile/amphibian coin collection?

GritsMan · November 1, 2009 12:59AM

I've slowly started to assemble a Dark Side collection of reptile and amphibian coins. Wouldn't guess I'm the only one judging by how many of these coins are produced, but I'm interested in what approach people have taken with these. Type? Date? Other? Phylogenetic classification? Thanks!

Sapyx · November 1, 2009 2:46PM

I don't have any dedicated thematic collections, but I do have a reasonably comprehensive thematic database of my collection. According to that, I've got 97 reptiles and 1 amphibian.

My collection's sorted by country.

theboz11 · November 1, 2009 8:35PM

I collect themes, but not those. Good Luck

GritsMan · November 1, 2009 11:49PM

<< I don't have any dedicated thematic collections, but I do have a reasonably comprehensive thematic database of my collection. According to that, I've got 97 reptiles and 1 amphibian.

My collection's sorted by country. >>

Wow, that must be some database! And I'll bet you've got some great "herps" in it. Which group of reptiles has the most representatives? I'm guessing sea turtles or crocodilians. Haven't seen too many lizards or snakes. New Zealand, of course, has put tuatara on several of their coins.

syl · November 2, 2009 6:23AM

lthough I have been a member here for quite a while, I only kibitz, though I am very active on the CCRS Canadian coin site. We had a member there who went far beyond the reptile thing, although they are listed on his site , along with all the rest of the world's beasts. He hasn't been on the other site for well over a year, but his site is still up: http://www.coinzoo.net/

SaorAlba · November 2, 2009 9:03AM

One of the kewlest coins created for actual circulation was an 8 shillings coin - a unique denomination - for I think Ghana in West Africa back in the 1960s that had a crocodile on it.

GritsMan · November 2, 2009 10:00AM

<< lthough I have been a member here for quite a while, I only kibitz, though I am very active on the CCRS Canadian coin site. We had a member there who went far beyond the reptile thing, although they are listed on his site , along with all the rest of the world's beasts. He hasn't been on the other site for well over a year, but his site is still up: http://www.coinzoo.net/ >>

Syl--cool site! My son and I loved looking at it. Thanks for posting! I see that echinoderms have, alas, not found much love in the world of coins

Sapyx · November 2, 2009 3:13PM

<< Which group of reptiles has the most representatives? >>

The database doesn't automatically count subcategories, but a quick check revealed the following:

Lizards: 8
Snakes: 39 (38 of which the snake is being eaten by a bird, on Mexican and Prussian coins; the other snake is the Australian mythical rainbow serpent)
Turtles: 11
Crocodilians: 6
Tuatara: 1
Extinct reptiles (i.e. Dinosaurs): 1
Mythical reptiles (i.e. Dragons): 32

Because I'm in Australia, I also have multiple examples of the Australian 2¢ coin (frill-necked lizard) and the New Zealand 5¢ (tuatara); these didn't get entered into the database.

So, discounting the edible snakes and mythical dragons, we've got turtles coming in at #1, lizards at #2 and crocs at #3.

My only amphibian is the giant cave salamander on a Slovenian coin.

<< One of the kewlest coins created for actual circulation was an 8 shillings coin - a unique denomination - for I think Ghana in West Africa back in the 1960s that had a crocodile on it. >>

You're thinking of the series of coins from the Gambia. The 8 shillings has a hippo; it's the 4 shillings that has a croc on it. The decimal equivalent, the 1 dalasi, has the same croc design.

7Jaguars · November 2, 2009 9:36PM

Methinks a methodical hunt through Krause may be required to expand the numbers. I seem to recall a snake NOT being eaten on a Papua New Guinea and some coins with frogs. In the way of fossils, Liberia had quite a few "coins" with famous dinosaurs. Pakistan has a conservation coin with a gavial Venezuela one with an American crocodile & I think Mexico had a pseudo-bullion issue with another croc.Many more I am quite sure.

skingspan · November 3, 2009 8:53AM

You may find this article to be of some help

link

Catbert · November 3, 2009 12:18PM

worldcoinguy · November 3, 2009 12:53PM

That is absolutely stunning catbert!

GritsMan · November 4, 2009 1:22AM

Yes! That is one cool coin! Thanks for posting!

MrEureka · November 4, 2009 9:37AM

I saw this thread title and envisioned a gecko dropping rare coins in a vending machine.

Fancy a crisp?

rainbowcoins · November 5, 2009 7:33AM

That is a nice coin/token catbert congrats...

JM, I thought the same thing...LOL

pendragon1998 · November 6, 2009 10:04AM

New Zealand has put out a frog coin or two.

Dinosaurs aren't reptiles, they're birds.

And for what it's worth, I started on a birds on coins collection which is currently stalled out in a bad way, but that I want to one day resurrect. If you want to see a few of those, just search for 'birds on coins' in this forum and you'll see some of my posts.

GritsMan · November 7, 2009 10:34PM

<< New Zealand has put out a frog coin or two.

Dinosaurs aren't reptiles, they're birds.

And for what it's worth, I started on a birds on coins collection which is currently stalled out in a bad way, but that I want to one day resurrect. If you want to see a few of those, just search for 'birds on coins' in this forum and you'll see some of my posts. >>

Actually, birds are dinosaurs, according to the latest cutting-edge scientists. And I have indeed snapped up the recent New Zealand issues on tuatara and the Hamilton's frog. Gorgeous coins!

Birds are also a really tempting theme. I'm going to look up your posts!

danglen · November 8, 2009 5:12AM

You can see lots of reptile and other assorted critters on my website. Just go to the "Reptile Coins" category.

GritsMan · November 8, 2009 7:22AM

<< You can see lots of reptile and other assorted critters on my website. Just go to the "Reptile Coins" category. >>

Great site! Very enjoyable!

pendragon1998 · November 8, 2009 11:42AM

<< 

<< New Zealand has put out a frog coin or two.

Dinosaurs aren't reptiles, they're birds.

And for what it's worth, I started on a birds on coins collection which is currently stalled out in a bad way, but that I want to one day resurrect. If you want to see a few of those, just search for 'birds on coins' in this forum and you'll see some of my posts. >>

Actually, birds are dinosaurs, according to the latest cutting-edge scientists. And I have indeed snapped up the recent New Zealand issues on tuatara and the Hamilton's frog. Gorgeous coins!

Birds are also a really tempting theme. I'm going to look up your posts! >>

6 of one half a dozen of the other - and that's coming from an ornithologist.

7Jaguars · November 8, 2009 12:10PM

Birds one branch off of the dinosaur line, but not the other way around - and that's coming from yet another biologist.

pendragon1998 · November 9, 2009 8:21AM

Yeah, yeah, I guess I'm just being a little facetious. :-)

7Jaguars · November 9, 2009 11:57AM

Just call us nerds....Well, us is probably me.

GritsMan · November 9, 2009 10:29PM

<< Just call us nerds....Well, us is probably me. >>

No, it's probably all of us! Who else out of the greater population would debate this issue???

pendragon1998 · November 10, 2009 5:14AM

We're two biology geeks arguing about phylogenetic relationships on a coin board on the internet. I don't think it gets much worse than that.

Oh, wait...

Captain Picard could beat Captain Kirk in a fair fight, obviously - but which ship would win: the Enterprise-D or the Death Star?

There, geekdom supreme has been achieved.

GritsMan · November 10, 2009 6:33AM

Make that THREE biology geeks. Berkeley, 1983.

I don't know. Kirk is awfully spunky!

Anyone have or seen a reptile/amphibian coin collection?

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