4044) Eurasian Brown Bear, Spain: Annual Gold Bullion Coins: Fifth "Bullion" 1.5 Euro Gold Coin in the Series: The Fabrica Nacional Moneda y Timbre (FNMT), Real Casa de Moneda (The Spanish Mint) has released a 1/10th-oz Gold Coin depicting one of Spain's most recognisable animals: Date/Year of Coin release: 2025:
The Casa Real de la Moneda has released the fifth design in an immensely popular gold bullion coin series.
The Reverse side depicts an image of the Cantabrian brown bear.
The theme of this numismatic programme focusses on Spanish culture and heritage through the country’s wildlife.
The first coins were introduced in 2021 with the Iberian Lynx featured on the one-ounce coins.
2022 featured the "Spanish Fighting Bull", 2023 the most beautiful and historically poignant equine breeds, the "Carthusian Horse" was featured and last year, the stately "Imperial Eagle" (2024) was highlighted.
For 2025, the gold coins feature the Cantabrian or, Iberian brown bear.
The Iberian Brown Bear:
They are a species of Eurasian brown bears living in the Cantabrian Mountains of Spain and are known locally as Oso pardo cantábrico.
During the 14th century, the Iberian or, Cantabrian brown bear was documented living as far south as Andalucía, on the Mediterranean coast.
However, records from the 16th and 17th centuries hunting the brown bear provided needed income for many hunters and by the 19th-century, the Cantabrian brown bear had been almost wiped off from the Iberian Peninsula.
Most of the brown bear population live in the region of the Asturias, on Spain’s northern coast, adjacent to the Cantabrian Sea and with around 80 per cent of Asturias covered by the Cantabrian Mountains, a perfect habitat.
These mountains are a rare spot in which Spain’s bears clung on to survival, evading hunters by disappearing into the rugged terrain. Hence the name – the Cantabrian brown bear.
Usually timid in temperament, they endeavour to avoid human contact whenever possible and can live for around 25 to 30 years in the wild.
From a distance, Cantabrian brown bears could easily be mistaken for their North American Grizzly bear cousins. However, the Cantabrian bears are smaller, but not by much with male Cantabrians weighing up to 200 kilograms or, 450 pounds.
There has been concern that recent mild winters have not been severe enough to necessitate hibernation and the bears are sometimes active during cold winter weather for reasons which are not entirely clear.
Presently, their numbers have increased in several parts of the country which is in part due to conservation efforts but, the Cantabrian brown bear is still catalogued on the Spanish Red List of Endangered Species as in danger of extinction.
In Europe it is listed in the European Mammal Assessment as critically endangered.
In Spain there is a maximum fine of €300,000 for killing these bears following a ban on hunting of the species in 1973.
The Gold Coin:
Near the lower right is the year of issue, "2025" and the "crowned-M mint mark" of the Real Casa de la Moneda (Spanish Royal Mint).
The Obverse side depicts the classic motif of the Columnario, an unmistakable design seen on the historic Spanish Pillar Dollar silver coins once recognised worldwide as the primary coin of international trade.
The crest depicts two hemispheres under a royal crown, flanked by the Pillars of Hercules with the motto "PLUS VLTRA" ("further beyond"), above a sea of waves.
The addition of a unique security measure patented by the Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre - Real Casa de la Moneda and placed above the crest is the quadruple latent image security feature when tilted under a source of light, enables four different images to be viewed such as the mintmark, a five-pointed star, the euro currency symbol and the silhouette of the columnar.
The legend seen to the left and right edge reads "FELIPE VI REY DE ESPANA" along with the specifications "1 ONZA 999,9 ORO" seen below the crest.
The coin has been struck in Reverse Proof quality with the background shown in matte and the engraved relief with a polished effect.
The specifications of this Coin are:
Denomination Metal Weight Diameter Quality Mintage Limit
1.5 Euro 999.9 Gold 31.1 g. 37.2 mm. Reverse Proof 10,000
- Each coin is individually encapsulated and available through a network of official bullion distribution partners of the Real Casa de la Moneda.
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Santosh Khanna has commented:
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DeleteRajan Trikha has commented:
ReplyDelete"Very informative."
Thank you so much Trikha sahab.
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