In 2007, there was an interesting combination. This was combining minting coins and raising awareness for endangered animals, undertaken by Coin Invest. The Ural Owl Coin, released in 2011, has been one of the many offspring of this endeavour, and was issued to the National Bank of Mongolia.
While Mongolia is not the single home of the Ural owl, it is one of their more recognisable fauna. They are present over a massive swathe of territory, stretching from Scandinavia to Japan. For the more geographically astute readers of this, they would recognise that this stretch of land is also home to taiga forests. The taiga biome is colloquially known as the 'snow forest', but despite this, in summer years the forests become truly spectacular. Trust me, look them up, you won't be disappointed.
The coin itself is made up of silver, and the eyes are Swarovski crystals. These crystals I feel are an essential element to the coin, giving it an incredibly life-like feel. Each coin is worth 1/3 of a USD, however, they go for far more than that in the hands of collectors. In this market they easily go for a few hundred dollars. There were exactly 2500 coins produced over the year.
Let me know if you have any other coins from the endangered animals series!