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Tuesday 16 October 2018

831) Ocelot: "Wildlife of Nicaragua" Coin Series: Fourth Coin in the series: A 100 Cordobas Silver Proof Coin issued by the Banco Central de Nicaragua in 2018, minted by the New Zealand Mint issued on 12.10.2018:

831) Ocelot (or "Leopardus pardalis"): "Wildlife of Nicaragua" Coin Series: Fourth Coin in the series: A 100 Cordobas Silver Proof Coin issued by the Banco Central de Nicaragua in 2018, minted by the New Zealand Mint issued on 12.10.2018:


The Banco Central de Nicaragua has on 12.10.2018, issued the fourth coin in the popular Coin Series titled "Wildlife  of Nicaragua Coin Series", which began in April 2018. It features the Ocelot ("Leopardus pardalis"), which is a solitary wild-cat, the second largest spotted cat in South America, possessing a distinctive golden coat marked with black rosettes. The Ocelot is native to Southwestern United states, Mexico and Central and South America.

About Nicaragua:

Nicaragua set between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea is a Central American country known for its dramatic terrain of lakes, volcanoes and beaches. To its North are El Salvador and Honduras, while to Nicaragua's South is Granada (noted for its Spanish colonial architecture) and Costa Rica. The vast Lake Managua and the iconic strato-volcano Momotombo are located North of the Nicaraguan capital Managua. The Cordoba is its currency (C$).

The Banco Central de Nicaragua has issued its fourth coin in a Coin Series titled "Wildlife of Nicaragua" which highlights the Central American country's wildlife that is both prevalent and in manu cases unique to the country or the region.
A banner showing the Obverse and Reverse of the Ocelot 100 Cordobas Coin placed against a backdrop of the forest habitat of the Ocelot 

About the Ocelot ("Leopardus pardalis"):

The Ocelot is a medium sized cat that is strong and agile. It measures at about 4-1/2 feet (or about 137.0 Centimetres) in length including its tail. Sometimes referred to as a "dwarf jaguar", it is found in areas with relatively dense vegetation cover. 

The temperament of the Ocelot is very aggressive and territorial, as they often seek safety from predators, such as large carnivores. It also seeks safety from predators like larger felines including jaguars and pumas, along with birds of prey such as the harpy eagle and the world's biggest snake - the anaconda. 

The Ocelot's prey includes mainly small rodents, birds, snakes, iguanas and other lizards, baby peccaries (related to wild boars), young deer, rabbits and even fish and crabs. They often take their prey up into a high place to eat it in peace. An Ocelot would, out of instinct, flee or run from humans and not attack them, avoiding them, if possible, however, if cornered, they may attack humans out of a survival instinct. 

The beautiful markings on their fur is a very effective camouflage, extensively marked with solid black markings on a tawny, yellowish background colour. The spot on the head and limbs are small, but markings on its back, cheeks and flanks are open or closed bands and stripes.

An adult Ocelot can range from 8 to 20 kilograms (or 17 to 44 pounds) . 

It is known for the beautiful and distinctive markings on its thick velvety coat, along with the stripes on its head and face that are distinctive to each individual.

 Its height can vary between 70 to 90 centimetres.

 The Ocelot can climb, run and swim, but spends most of the day resting on the branches of high trees, only coming down at night to hunt. It is generally a solitary animal, but when it breeds it may have 2 to 4 cubs. 

A solitary wild-cat, the Ocelot is the second largest spotted cat in South America - possessing a distinctive golden coat marked with black rosettes.

Though the biggest threat to Ocelots is deforestation and habitat degradation, it is listed as of "Least Concern" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN0's Red List, as the Ocelot population is estimated at over 40,000 mature individuals and is considered stable. 

The Coin:


The Reverse of the 100 Cordobas Coin shows a  coloured Ocelot amongst intricate engravings of its native forest habitat. On the upper periphery is mentioned "OCELOT. OCELOTE" and on the lower periphery "1 Oz .999 FINE SILVER" and 100 CORDOBAS".

The Obverse of the 100 Cordobas Coin shows the Coat of Arms/Crest/Emblem of Nicaragua in the centre, below which is the year of issue "2018". The inscriptions are "REPUBLIC DE NICARAGUA" (on the upper periphery) and "AMERICA CENTRAL" (on the lower periphery).

The Emblem/Crest of Nicaragua:

The present Nicaraguan Embllem was adopted in 1971 and features a triangle encircled by the words in gold colour "REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA" on top and "AMERICA CENTRAL" on the bottom. 

The Equilateral triangle stands for EQUALITY.

The Rainbow in the centre stands for PEACE.

The Phrygian Cap ("Gorro Frigio") in the middle signifies FREEDOM.

The five Volcanoes represent UNION and the FRATERNITY between the five Central American countries.

The specifications of this coin are:

Coin Denomination: C$100 (100 Cordobas); Metal Composition: .999 Fine Silver; Diameter/Size: 40.0 mm; Weight: 1 Troy Oz.; Coin Quality: Proof with applied colour; Country of Issue: Republic of Nicaragua; Mint: New Zealand Mint; Mintage: 5,000 pieces; Edge: Milled; Year of issue: 2018.


The custom-made wooden box in which the encapsulated coin is housed


The closed wooden box displays the Nicaraguan Crest/Emblem
The outer box/covering displays the Ocelot Coin design and complements Nicaragua's Wildlife theme for this Coin Series. The Coin comes with a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) written in both English & Spanish

             The outer box & the wooden box displayed together






Links to some other interesting posts from South American countries & Mexico:

1) The Evolution of Mexican Coinage








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