This low mintage,
one troy ounce pure silver proof sports a proprietary
black treatment to make the Echidna look like it's been caught in the
moonshine in the act of slurping up ants. We believe that the black treatment may
be rhodium plating - but the mint won't confirm! Talk about affordable
investments -
Get in on the ground floor now
with this second this new series, Australia at Night!
The Unusual Echidna
Echidnas
are small, relatively primitive mammals that are covered with coarse
hair and spines, for which reason they are sometimes called spiny
anteaters. Superficially they resemble the anteaters of South
America, and other spiny mammals like hedgehogs and porcupines. They
have snouts which have the functions of both the mouth and nose. Their
snouts are elongated and slender. They have very short, strong limbs
with large claws and are powerful diggers. Echidnas have a tiny mouth
and a toothless jaw. They feed by tearing open soft logs, anthills and
the like with their claws, then using their long, sticky tongue which
protrudes from their snout to collect their prey. Long-beaked echidnas
have tiny spines on their tongues that help capture their meals.
Echidnas and the duckbill platypus are the only egg-laying mammals,
known as monotremes. The female lays a single soft-shelled, leathery
egg twenty-two days after mating and deposits it directly into her
pouch. Hatching takes ten days; the young echidna, called a puggle,
then sucks milk from the pores of the two milk patches (monotremes have
no nipples) and remains in the pouch for forty-five to fifty-five days,
at which time it starts to develop spines. The mother echidna digs a
nursery
burrow and deposits the puggle, returning every five days to suckle it
until it is weaned at seven months.
Obverse
A nocturnal, adult echidna climbs over a branch and surprises a nest
full of ants, its favorite meal. The scene sports a
proprietary black treatment to simulate the nighttime, when the
nocturnal spiny anteater is most active. The legends AUSTRALIA AT NIGHT
and ECHIDNA denote the theme.
Reverse
Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II,
in crowned profile facing right. This portrait, featuring Her Majesty
wearing a tiara and pearl drop earrings, was executed by the sculptor
Ian Rank Broadley. The legend ELIZABETH II, the date of issue and
denomination also appear, while the legend 1 OZ 999 SILVER guarantees
the weight and purity.
Packaging