Who doesn’t love snow leopards? They are one of the few animals which are surrounded by a ninjaesque aura. They move hidden in the mountains of far east Asia and the mysterious peaks of Siberia. And they are featured on this nice Mongolian coin. Come on, let’s follow this ghost and unravel the mysteries of this coin.
original size
Snow Leopard Hideout
So, where is our little cat hiding? It seems like he's hidden in this blue box! Along with a certificate of authenticity. Even cats do need papers nowadays to get around. The box itself is made of a solid dark blue cardboard. A magnet takes care of the fastening. It's a bit flimsy but keeps the box shut.
original size
Face the Snow Leopard
The first thing you notice when looking at this coin is that it uses a lot of antiquing. Which is a bit unusual for a proof coin. But it's applied, although not in moderation, in a very creative way. Most of the snow leopards is antiqued, except for highlights in the fur and the face. The most obvious part without antiquing are the mountains; they are minted in a spotless mirror finish. They really look like the snow-covered peaks from the habitat of this stunning animal.The second thing you notice on this coin is a pack of snow leopards cramped in every corner of this coin. There are a total of four snow leopards on this coin. The center place takes a male snow leopard ready to pounce on its prey. Left of him there is a mother with a cute feline cub. Hidden in the bottom right, the last cat hides in the background in front of a boreal forest. A blinding mountain range overshadows the whole pack. Which you can take very literal because this is the only part of the coin with a mirror finish.
Third and lastly this coin has another feature; it's minted as a high relief coin. This results in a very plastic look and makes every detail stand out. All those features combined make for a very cool obverse, but it would do well with a bit less antiquing in my opinion.
original size
The Snow Leopards Behind
The reverse of this coin is no surprise. It's covered in various Mongolian symbols borrowed from its coat of arms and other state symbols. Let's start at the outside and work our way into the center.
The name of Mongolia flanks the whole back in Uighurjin Mongol script, a vertical script. In the upper part, a so-called tumen nasan encircles the state symbol and the Cyrillic lettering "Bank of Mongolia". The circle is closed by a ceremonial scarf, the khadag.
Underneath all of this the denomination of 500 togrog and some details on fineness complete the reverse.
Conclusion
This coin is certainly one of the more unique snow leopard designs. The creative use of antique finish contributes to this. Aside from that, it should be noted, that it is a very low mintage coin of just 999 pieces. Which turns this coin into an obscure collector's piece if collectors don't show interest in it. I haven't heard a lot about it on the internet, so I'm afraid it's already the case. Which is kind of sad. What do you think about that? Is this the normal fate of low mintage collector coins? I'm curious to read your thoughts on the matter.
Elly really loves snow leopards!