1510) "Quokka" (Setonix brachyurus), Australia: A Silver $1 (One Australian Dollar) Brilliant Uncirculated (BU) Coin issued by the Perth Mint Australia: Year of Coin issue: 2020:
The Quokka is a short-tailed scrub wallaby and is a small macropod about the size of a domestic cat. The Quokka is known for its cute, smiley appearance and friendliness towards humans. This Australian native is termed the "Earth's Happiest Animal". The term "Quokka" is derived from a Nyungar word - "gwaga".
It is herbivorous - eating many types of vegetation, including grasses, sedges and leaves - and is chiefly nocturnal.
Quokkas are found on some smaller islands off the coast of Western Australia, particularly on Rottnest Island, just off Perth, and also Bald Island near Albany and in isolated, scattered populations in forest and coastal heath between Perth and Albany. A small colony exists at the Eastern limit of their range in a protected area of "Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve".
A Quokka weighs about 2.5 to 5.0 kilograms (or 5.5 to 11.0 lb) and is 40 to 54 centimetres (or 16.0 to 21.0 inches) long, with a 25 to 30.0 centimetre long (or 9.8 to 11.8 tail.
It has a stocky build, well developed hind legs, rounded ears and a short, broad head. Although looking like a very small kangaroo, it can climb small trees and shrubs up to 1.5 metres (or 4 feet 11 inches).
Its coarse fur is a grizzled brown colour, fading to buff underneath.
Quokkas live for an average age of 10 years.
Females give birth twice a year to a single baby called joey and can produce about 17 joeys during their lifespan.
The discovery of Quokkas is credited to Dutch mariner Samuel Volckertzoon, who wrote of sighting a "wild cat" on Rottnest Island in 1658.
In 1696, the Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh mistook them for giant rats and named the island "Rottnest Island", which derives from the Dutch word "Rattenest (meaning "rat nest").
The islands are free from predators such as red foxes and cats.
Quokka population today:
At the time of the colonial settlement, the Quokka was widespread and abundant and distributed over a range encompassing an area of about 41,200 square kilometres (about 15,900 square miles) of the South-west of Western Australia including two off-shore islands - Bald and Rottnest.
About three decades ago, its population had declined by more than 50%.
The chief reasons are -
- Predation by red foxes, cats and dogs.
- logging, agricultural development and housing expansion have reduced their habitat, particularly dense ground cover where they take refuge from predators.
- they raise only one joey annually, which is threatened by predators and contributes to the scarcity of the species on the mainland.
- at the end of summer and into autumn, a seasonal decline of quokkas occurs on Rottnest Island, where loss of vegetation and reduction of available surface water leads to starvation.
The Commemorative Silver Coin:
This commemorative coin released by the Perth Mint, Australia, pays a tribute to the Quokka - "the "Earth's Happiest Animal", found only in Australia.
Each coin features a unique security detail in the form of a micro-laser ebgraved letter within the design, which is detectable only under a magnifying glass.
The inscription on the upper periphery reads - "QUOKKA".
4) New Zealand: New Banknote "Seventh Series" issued under Project "Brighter Money" from 2015 onwards
5) Coinage of the French Polynesian Island of Caledonia (or Nouvelle Caledonie) the CFP Franc
6) French Institution for issuing uniform currency/coinage for French Overseas Territories in the Pacific and the French Southern Territories of Antarctica: The Institut d'emmission d'outre Mer (IEOM)
7) Currency & Coinage of Samoa: Tala and Sene
8) Currency of the South Pacific Island Country of Fiji
9) Coinage of New Zealand: A commemorative coin set issued in 1979
10) Currency and Coinage of Australia: Dollars and Cents
11) The Australian Emblem or the Coat of Arms
12) The story of the Australian Penny
13) The Legend of the Mutiny on the Bounty: A Commemorative Coin Set from the Pitcairn Islands depicting relics from the Bounty issued in 2009
14) An Australian $5 coin issued in 1996, commemorating Australia's greatest cricketing legend - Sir Donald Bradman
15) New Series/Generation of Australian Banknotes being introduced from 01.09.2016 onwards starting from $5 issues
16) Southern Lights: A $1 Silver holographic coin issued by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in January 2017
17) Currency & coinage of the Kingdom of Tonga : Pa'anga & Seniti
18) Postage Stamps & Coin: Commemorating the Centenary of the Trans-Australian Railway Line stamps issued by Australia Post & coins by Perth Mint on 04.07.2017
53) "Winged Victory" Coin, Australia: Perth Mint has issued Gold and Silver Coins featuring the Greek Goddess Nike: Date/Year of Coin issue: 2020 (with Year of issue inscribed as 2021)
Links to interesting Posts on coins from Tuvalu Islands:
1)Famous Pirates of the Caribbean :2) Edward Teach or "BlackBeard"
2)Famous Pirates of the Caribbean: 3)Bartholomew Roberts or Black Bart Roberts
3)Famous Pirates of the Caribbean:4)Jack Rackham
4)Famous-pirates-of- the Caribbean : 5) Henry Avery
5)Famous Pirates of the Caribbean : 6) Sir Henry Morgan
6)Norse Goddess Freya - a Silver 2 Dollars High Relief antiquated Coin , the first in the Series titled "Norse Goddesses" (2017)
Link to Posts from Tokelau:
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)
5) "Tree of Life", Palau: First Coin in a new Coin Series titled "Dot Art" features "Pointillism", an Art Technique of the 1800s: A Silver Black Proof $20 Coin minted with Smartminting Technology, coordinated by Numiscollect: Date of Coin issue: 05/2020
6) "Great White Shark", Republic of Palau: A $5 (5 Dollars) Silver Proof Coin issued by Coin Invest Trust (CIT), minted by B.H. Mayer's Kunstprageanstalt GmbH on behalf of Palau: Year of Coin issue: 2020 (with Year of issue inscribed as 2021)
Links to Posts on coin issues from Niue Islands:
Links to posts on Coin issues from Solomon Islands:
Other links to interesting posts on Coins 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)
24) Arowana Dragon Fish, Republic of Palau: A Silver $10 (Dollars) Coin brought out by Coin Invest Trust (CIT) for the Republic of Palau, minted by B.H. Mayer's Kunstprageanstalt, Munich: Issue year: 2019
26) Peter Carl Faberge: 100th Anniversary of his passing away (1920-2020): Coin invest Trust (CIT) has issued a commemorative silver coin of 1000 Togrog on behalf of the Republic of Mongolia, featuring Faberge's "Apple Blossom Egg", the biggest and most well known of his creations: Coin issue date/Year: 2020
30) "Blue Skies and Tail Winds", Cook Islands: A 10 Dollars Silver Black Proof Coin coordinated by the Coin Invest Trust (CIT) and minted by B.H. Mayer's Kunstprageanstalt at their facitity in Munich, Germany: Year: 2020
4) 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
5) "Great White Shark", Republic of Palau: A $5 (5 Dollars) Silver Proof Coin issued by Coin Invest Trust (CIT), minted by B.H. Mayer's Kunstprageanstalt GmbH on behalf of Palau: Year of Coin issue: 2020 (with Year of issue inscribed as 2021)
2) "Aconcagua", Argentina: 25 Dollars High Relief Silver Coin - The Third Coin in the "7-Summits Coin Series" issued by the Cook Islands in co-ordination with Coin Invest Trust (CIT) and minted by B.H. Mayer's Kunstprageanstalt GmbH issued in November 2018
3) Mount Kilimanjaro: 25 Dollar Silver High Relief Coin: The fourth coin in the 7-Summits Coin Series issued by the Cook Islands in co-ordination with Coin Invest Trust (CIT) and minted by B.H. Mayer's Kunstprageanstalt GmbH issued in 08/2019
Vikram Bhatnagar has commented:
ReplyDelete"Strangely, we left such beauties behind while continentally drifting north from Australia! 🤔"
Very true, Vikram. It was the Dutch explorers who discovered the cute fellow in the 1600s. Indeed a loss for us. This fellow likes human company and loves it when selfies are taken with it.
DeleteSantosh Khanna has commented:
ReplyDelete"Super."
Thank you, Khanna sahab.
DeleteGirish Kumar Bhumri has commented:
ReplyDelete"Thanks for addition to our knowledge."
Thank you so much, GK for visiting the blog.
DeleteVinod Khurana has commented:
ReplyDelete"Nature has lot many things, which one feels good to know. Thanks for sharing."
The wonders of nature are indeed unfathomable, Vinodji. Thank you for visiting the blog.
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