Lately I have been on a bit of a dragon kick here in my posts. It actually hasn't been intentional, I just keep stumbling across some awesome new silver or gold coins and rounds. Of course when I see them I think "now that would be fun to own." As next year is the year of the dragon in the Chinese zodiac it seems that many countries are going all out on production of commemorative coins to cash in on the event. And why not, after all who doesn't love dragons?
Now this particular image they are providing doesn't look like the finished product to me, but the coin should look identical (at least one would hope.) This one is also coming from an African country, Cameroon. I have to say the design is really impressive! Have a look:
pictures from dazzlingcoins.com
About the coin:
Issuer: Republic of Cameroon
Denomination: 500 CFA francs
Composition: Ag 999
Diameter: 32.00 mm
Weight: 14.14 g
Quality: black proof
Edge: plain
Mintage: 999 pcs
Year of issue: 2024
Now this coin I have to admit should to be awesome. However, there are couple detractors for me. First is the weight, according to my calculations it's going to be just under a half ounce of silver. Secondly the best price I've found so far is $92 US which is pretty steep for a coin that isn't even one ounce of silver.
Another interesting fact is that much of the details in the dragon are going to be digitally printed (which is odd) onto the coin surface unlike other coins that are struck. It also going to have ruthenium (a precious metal) in the details and a red zircon. It really is an impressive looking coin, when I saw it I knew I was going to have to create a post about it! Will I buy one, if the price were better I would consider it. The digital printing also has me a little worried that over time it might fade, so I'm officially undecided! Anyone else have an opinion?
Since I found that Chinese water dragon a few posts back I've been wondering what other animals are out there with dragon in their names. Turns out there are quite a few. But one caught my eye right away, because it reminded me so much of a movie by Steven Spielberg that was released in 1993. Any guesses?
Remind anyone of "Jurassic Park"?
The frilled dragon (or frilled lizard) is native to Australia and New Guinea. The are about 90 cm (35 inches) from head to tail and weight 1.3 pounds (600 grams) and have have the ability to raise folded skin up around it's neck into a frill when threatened. It normally is folded against the body. They spend most of their time in trees and eat insects.
The frill around it's neck reminded me right away of the dinosaur in Jurassic Park who attacked and ate actor Wayne Knight's character, after spraying him in the face first with some yellow venom. These lizards don't do that, but are very cool reptiles just the same. Over the last decades they have become more popular as pets but are still relatively hard to find. They don't particularly like being handled, so it sounds kind of like having a fish. You can watch it but they don't interact well with you. I'll pass on owning one of these, I'll stick with friendlier animals!
I hope you enjoyed my post today. I appreciate you taking the time to read it over! Please feel free to leave any suggestions, comments, or questions below. And I will be back tomorrow with something out of my collection. Thanks again and have a great rest of your weekend!
And my disclaimer:
Gold and silver stacking can be a fun hobby but isn't for everyone. You can lose money. I'm not a financial advisor and this isn't financial advice, please always do your own research before spending your hard earned money.
References:
https://dazzlingcoins.com/year-of-the-dragon-ruthenium-silver-proof-coin-cameroon-2024/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frilled_lizard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameroon
Re-blog lottery
Now for the winner of the re-blog lottery! Today we had 39 people re-blog my post, thank you so much! You guy are the best! The people who re-blogged were:
Voluntary daily reminder list for those who request to be on it:
If you want to be added to the list as well just feel free to ask!
Thank you everyone! I have been working to improve my engagement and all of you have really helped out! If you have any recommendations or suggestions please feel free to let me know. I'm always looking to improve my posts.
Good luck to everyone!
And the Wheel of Names results:
Congratulations to
You will each receive 3 HSBI!
Now for today's re-blog lottery! You just need to re-blog my post you will be placed on the Wheel of Names for a spin to possibly win 3 HSBI units! Just one prize for the lucky winner. An upvote is not required but is always greatly appreciated. Bots aren't allowed to win the prize. Contest ends at 14:00 (2 PM) California Pacific time tomorrow. If I somehow missed your re-blog please let me know and I'll add you to the next draw.
What are HSBI units? They are units that you can purchase to sponsor someone and you in turn receive a unit as well. This way we both benefit! They give you occasional upvotes on your posts for a lifetime, and the more you accumulate the more often you receive upvotes and the bigger they can be. You can read some more here:
If you have more questions feel free to ask.