Oarfish Tristan Da Cunha Nightingale Island 2011 20 Pence Legal Tender Brass Commemorative Coin Uncirculated Comes In Sealed Plastic Bag From Mint

Description

This listing is for one uncirculated:

OARFISH
Tristan Da Cunha Nightingale Island
2011 Twenty Pence Legal Tender Brass Commemorative Coin Uncirculated 
Comes In Sealed Plastic Bag From Mint

Great addition for your world commemorative coin and/or fish collection!

This coin shows an Oarfish, “Nightingale Island,” and “TWENTY PENCE” on the front.

Queen Elizabeth II, “Tristan da Cunha,” and “2011” are on the back.

Twenty Pence legal tender coin from Tristan da Cunha.

This 20 mm diameter coin is a bit smaller than USA nickel (21.21 mm in diameter) and larger than USA penny (19.05 mm in diameter) and USA dime (17.91 mm in diameter). 

Edge is smooth.

One of the species of oarfish, the giant oarfish (Regalecus glesne), is the longest bony fish alive, growing up to 11 meters (36 ft) in length.  That is not enough to qualify as the longest fish, however, as some of the cartilaginous fish such as the basking shark and whale shark are even longer.

The common name oarfish is thought to refer either to their highly compressed and elongated bodies, or to the now discredited belief that the fish “row” themselves through the water with their pelvic fins.  The occasional beachings of oarfish after storms, and their habit of lingering at the surface when sick or dying, make oarfish a probable source of many sea serpent tales.

The oarfish is thought to inhabit the deeper ocean layers, ranging from 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) and is rarely seen on the surface.  A few have been found still barely alive, but usually if one floats to the surface, it dies.  At the depths the oarfish live, there are little or no currents and so they build little muscle mass and they cannot survive in shallower turbulent water.

Although the larger species are considered game fish and are fished commercially to a minor extent, oarfish are rarely caught alive; their flesh is not well regarded for eating due to its gelatinous consistency.

Oarfish are known to frequent the waters near Tristan da Cunha.

For these reasons, Tristan da Cunha decided to commemorate the  oarfish on this coin.

Nightingale Island is an active volcanic island that is part of the Tristan da Cunha group.  Though it has no permanent inhabitants, Tristan da Cunha has issued a series of wildlife commemorative coins in honor of  the island. 

This listing is for one coin only – the oarfish coin.

Tristan da Cunha, colloquially Tristan, is both a remote group of volcanic islands in the south Atlantic Ocean and the main island of that group.  It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) from the nearest inhabited land, Saint Helena, and 2,400 kilometers (1,500 miles) from the nearest continental land, South Africa.  It is 3,360 kilometres (2,090 miles) from South America.  The territory consists of the main island, Tristan da Cunha, which has a north–south length of 11.27 kilometres (7.00 miles) and an area of 98 square kilometres (38 sq mile), and the smaller, uninhabited Nightingale Island and the wildlife reserves of Inaccessible and Gough islands.  As of January 2017, the main island has 262 permanent inhabitants.  Edinburgh of the Seven Seas is the only major settlement of Tristan da Cunha, and contains a small port, the Administrator’s residence, and the post office.  The other islands are uninhabited, except for the personnel of a weather station on Gough Island.

PHOTOS ENLARGED TO SHOW DETAILS.

  THERE MAY BE SOME DISCLORATION, TONING AND/OR SPOTTING.

COIN MAY HAVE SUPERFICIAL NICKS AND SCRATCHES.

COIN YOU RECEIVE MAY DIFFER FROM THAT SHOWN IN PHOTO BUT WILL BE IN SAME GENERAL CONDITION.  COLOR AND HUE OF COIN YOU RECEIVE MAY VARY FROM THAT SHOWN DUE TO COMPUTER AND PHOTOGRAPHY ISSUES AND DUE TO INDIVIDUAL COIN VARIABILITY.  COIN IS SOME SHADE OF BRASS IN COLOR.

This coin is a great addition to your coin or animal collection and is a great way to start a coin collection for your child or grandchild!

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Please be sure to read this listing carefully, thoroughly and completely and to ask questions before buying so you are completely satisfied with your purchase.

This listing includes free shipping to USA by USPS First Class Mail with delivery confirmation.