853) Ammonite, from the Devonian Period (419 to 350 million years ago) "The Age of the Fishes": First Coin in the "Evolution of Life Coin Series" brought out by Coin Invest Trust on behalf of the Republic of Mongolia in 2015:
Mongolia is famous for its rich fossil record, including dramatic species like Velociraptor - popularised by the Jurassic Park movies.
The "Evolution of Life" coin series pays tribute to past eras by portraying extinct prehistoric creatures in luxurious rose-gilded Smartminting relief on an antique finish rock matrix background or on Gold coins.
Mongolia is famous for its rich fossil record, including dramatic species like Velociraptor - popularised by the Jurassic Park movies.
The "Evolution of Life" coin series pays tribute to past eras by portraying extinct prehistoric creatures in luxurious rose-gilded Smartminting relief on an antique finish rock matrix background or on Gold coins.
Coin Invest Trust began this interesting Coin Series titled "Evolution of Life" in 2015, with the release of the first coin in this series titled "Ammonite" featuring an Ammonite fossil, minted in High Relief.
Ammonites superficially resemble snails and nautilus - the marine creatures - but were more closely related to octopus and squid.
Gas filled chambers within the shell allowed them to move up and down the water column in search of prey and to avoid predation by Mosasaurs.
The striking red-gilded reconstruction of a partially excavated Ammonite represents the Devonian Period which lasted from 419 to 350 million years ago, during which the first forests, first amphibians and first bony fishes were recorded to have evolved.
The striking red-gilded reconstruction of a partially excavated Ammonite represents the Devonian Period which lasted from 419 to 350 million years ago, during which the first forests, first amphibians and first bony fishes were recorded to have evolved.
The Reverse of the 100 Togrog Gold coin issued in 2015 under the Series titled "Evolution of Life" placed against the background image of a primitive Devonian Sea - with rocks, clouds and flashes of lightning
The Devonian Period (also called the Age of the Fishes"):
Geologically, during the Devonian period, the crust of the Earth crumpled repeatedly and buckled. Slowly the land was lifted upwards, with new mountain ranges forming. The waters of the inland seas advanced and receded several times. Behind the receding waters were left thick layers of black mud, rich in organic materials that had been accumulating there for millions of years and that were now exposed to the air and sun.
Never before had the world offered such an opportunity for life, which was promising and potentially fruitful as that of the primeval sea.
Sea-weeds and early plants with no seeds but relying on spores began to move outwards on land. Intermediate plant forms called gametophytes developed which later developed into a system of male & female plant reproduction through seeds.
Soon photosynthesis processes helped early plants to move further inland and plants began to master all the basic techniques of living on land - growing taller than their neighbours to catch more sunlight, transporting water and nutrients to all parts of their leaves and stems absorbed by new types of roots through a system of tubes to circulate the moisture and sap.
Devonian plant life slowly grew into forests which are much like modern day ones and offered a rich habitat for animal life. The first arrivals were spiders and scorpions, remote descendants of the great scorpions that had ruled the Silurian Seas.
Towards the end of the Devonian period, the first vertebrates came out of the sea onto land.
Despite the fantastic burgeoning of land plants during the Devonian period it is generally called the "Age of the Fishes".
The fish of the Devonian surpassed all other life forms of the time. Not only they learnt to survive, but showed extra-ordinary staying power. Some were jawless, some had jaws, while several shed their armour and increased their power of biting, rending jaws, which helped the development of the 30-foot Dinichthys - the giant of its day and part of a group which became the ancestors of present day fish.
The sea presented new fish species - large sharks, skates and sting rays.
Two interesting fish that led to the evolution of man were the - lung-fish which developed primitive lungs to ensure a supply of vital oxygen in the changing environment of the Devonian (present day Lung-fish in Africa & South America still use their lungs to survive in shallow stagnant pools) and
the second one was a group of fishes called - Crossopterygians - which developed fins - which later got adapted for locomotion on land by transforming into legs.
Some life forms became amphibious like present day frogs and toads and small snails which moved out further inland and took the shelter of trees and vegetation growing on mountains and rocky sections.
About Ammonoidea:
Ammonoids are an extinct group of marine molluscs animals in the sub-class Ammonoidea of the class Cephalopoda.
The name "Ammonite" is derived from the spiral shape of their fossilised shells which resemble a tightly coiled ram's horns. Pliny the Elder (AD 23-79) called the fossils of these animals "ammonis cornua" ( or "horns of Ammon") because the Egyptian God Ammon (Amun) was often depicted wearing ram's horns.
Ammonites are more closely related to living coleoids - octopuses, squid and cuttlefish - than they are to shelled nautiloids.
The earliest Ammonites appeared during the Devonian and the last species died out during the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event (A sudden mass extinction of about three-quarters of plantand animal species on Earth which happened some 66 million years ago).
Ammonites are excellent index fossils and it is often possible to link the rock layer in which a particular species or genus is found to specific geologic time periods. Their fossil shells usually take the form of planispirals, although there were some helically spiralled and non-spiralled forms called heteromorphs.
The Coins:
While fossils of the Ammonite's head and tentacles are extremely rare, their shells are among the most abundant fossils and helps determine the age of the rock where they are found in.
The Reverse of the 1000 Togrog Gold Coin shows the fossil of the Ammonite. The peripheral inscriptions are - "Ammonite", "EVOLUTION" and "2015".
The Obverse of the 1000 Togrog Coin shows the Soyombo emblem of Mongolia in the centre, below which is the denomination of the coin "1000 Togrog". On the lower periphery is mentioned "0.5 gr. .9999 GOLD".
The specifications of the Gold Coin are:
Country of issue: Mongolia; Year: 2015; Denomination: 1000 Togrog; Metal Composition: .9999 Fineness Gold (Au); Weight: 0.5 grams; Diameter/Size: 11.0 mm; Coin Quality: Proof; Mintage: 15,000 pieces.
The Reverse of the 500 Togrog Silver Coin shows the fossil of the Ammonite. In the background are images of a rock with fossils of other shells, Devonian life forms. The inscriptions are - "AMMONOIDEA", "EVOLUTION OF LIFE", "2015".
The Obverse of the 500 Togrog Silver Coin shows the Soyombo emblem of Mongolia in the centre below which is the denomination of the Coin "500 Togrog". On the lower periphery is mentioned the metallic composition of the coin & country of issue - "MONGOLIA, 1 Oz .999 SILVER".
The specifications of the Silver Coin are:
Country: Mongolia; Year: 2015; Denomination: 500 Togrog; Metal Composition: .999 Fineness Silver (Ag); Weight: 1 Oz; Diameter/Size: 38.61 mm; Coin Quality: Antique Finish; Mintage: 999 pieces.
The four coins issued in the Series so far (2015-onwards) - Ammonite, Trilobite, Ichthyosaur and Pterosaur
Other links to interesting posts brought out by Coin Invest Trust on behalf of other countries:
Other links to interesting posts brought out by Coin Invest Trust on behalf of other countries:
2) 150th Anniversary of "The Great Tea Race - 1866": Commemorative Coins in the denomination of 10 and 2 Dollars issued by Cook Islands in 2016
3) The Mystical Ancient Egyptian Labyrinth depicted on $10 Silver coins issued by Cook islands in 2016, under its "Milestones of Mankind Series".
4) King Arthur: The first coin in the six coins "Camelot Series".
5) Quilling Art: Silver 2 Dollars coins issued - Flowers (2016) & Bird (2017)
10) The "Maneki Neko Cat" ot the "Fortune Cat" : A $1 Gold Coin issued by the Republic of Palau: Minted by B.H. Mayer's Kunstprageanstalt, Munich for Coin Invest Trust in 2018
11) Ammonite: First coin in the "Evolution of Life Coin series" brought out by Coin Invest Trust on behalf of the Republic of Mongolia in 2015
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