After selling out its 2013 Blue Whale titanium coin, Pobjoy Mint has announced the release of a 2017 Blue Whale titanium coin, struck on behalf of the South Georgia and The Sandwich Islands Government.
Blue whales are the largest animals ever known to have lived on Earth. These magnificent marine mammals rule the oceans at upwards of 30 metres long and 200 tons. Their tongues alone can weigh as much as an elephant, and their hearts can be as heavy as an automobile. They have a broad, flat head and a long, tapered body that ends in wide, triangular flukes.
They reach these mind-boggling dimensions on a diet composed nearly exclusively of tiny shrimp-like animals called krill. During certain times of the year, a single adult blue whale consumes about four tons of krill a day.
Their colour is true blue underwater, but on the surface their colouring is more a mottled blue grey. Their underbellies take on a yellowish hue from the millions of microorganisms residing in their skin.
BLUE TITANIUM
The use of the blue titanium is doubly fitting for this coin: the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is so named due to its blue appearance whilst underwater. Titanium itself is renowned for its excellent resistance to seawater, adding another exceptional link to this special coin with its association to the sea and marine life.
According to the mint, due to the difficulty of striking titanium, the metal is as strong as steel but 45 per cent lighter. Each coin in this series is “truly exclusive as no two titanium coins are exactly the same.” Each coin also features a lined effect that’s a result of the “unmistakeable qualities of titanium.”
The £2 coin has a diameter of 36.10 mm and a weight of 10 grams. There’s a mintage of 7,500 pieces.