Silver Investment Coin Ice Age Giants - Cave Bear 1 Oz 2020

Giants of the Ice Age - Cave Bear

The 1 Oz (31.1 g) investment silver coin minted at the German mint Leipziger Edelmetallverarbeitung GmbH in 2020 in the purest 99.9% silver purity is part of the Giants of the Ice Age series, which will introduce eight giants of the Ice Age over four years. The fourth coin in the series features the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus).

The reverse of the coin depicts a cave bear against a backdrop of rocky mountain peaks. The visible upper part of the body with long claws and sharp fangs gives an idea of the massiveness and strength of the extinct beast. The coin's motif is complemented by the series name "GIANTS OF THE ICE AGE", weight and fineness. The outer rim of the coin features silhouettes of all eight animals of the series in order of issue. The motif of the cave bear is recessed and accentuated by the polished design, while the silhouettes of the other animals rise above the surface of the coin. The year of issue is indicated at the bottom edge of the coin.

The obverse shows the national emblem of the Republic of Ghana, the inscription 'REPUBLIC OF GHANA' and the denomination at the bottom of the coin.

The coin comes in a plastic capsule with a mintage of 15,000 pieces for the whole world!

The cave bear was present in Europe and Asia for over a hundred thousand years during the earlier Quaternary period known as the Pleistocene. It became extinct at the end of the last Ice Age approximately 24,000 years ago. It got its name from its skeletal remains, which were found almost exclusively in caves. For this reason, it is thought to have had a strong fixation on its native cave as its main habitat. His natural enemy was the cave lion and also man. It was the increasing human population inhabiting the same environment that partly caused its extinction. The second factor was the dramatic loss of food due to climatic changes in the weather. Although the bear was a cave omnivore, its main diet depended on large sources of vegetation.
The cave bear was similar to today's brown bear. The main difference was its skull, with its high, rising forehead. Males weighed between 400 and 500 kg, while females were considerably smaller at 225 to 250 kg.
By comparing the DNA of the cave bear and the brown bear, scientists have found a certain correspondence, which proves the interbreeding of the two species. This is only the second genome of an extinct representative found in a living species. The first case was a human whose non-African genome contained a small percentage of identity to the Neanderthal genome.

This product is part of the following product sets: