I decided to pick up a Silver Elephant for my monthly pickups. I'm not trying to collect silver minted by different countries. Right now, I'm only trying to get pieces from reputable mints. One might ask, since when did Somalia have a mint? Well, they don't.
I couldn't get a good picture of the obverse of the coin. I don't feel like taking it out of its protective plastic, so here's a marketing image from APMEX:
The brief history I learned about the Elephants told me they are part of the African Wildlife series. I have only seen the Leopards as the other alternative. Unlike other state-minted silver coins, I have seen many different images of elephants on these coins, much like the Silver Pandas.
The Bavarian State Mint mints these coins for Somalia. The State Mint's website has lots of educational information. I still find it funny that a German company produces another country's signature coins. I may dive into the history of that deal when I have the time.
It makes you wonder how the State Mint will operate under the current political atmosphere. I don't know how energy-intensive this type of operation is. It would be a shame for the centuries old company to go out of business.
In other news, I heard a rumor that the recent reversal of downtrends in precious metal prices echoes that of 2008. You could see that on the price chart. Make that what you will. It's not financial advice.