Latvian central bank unearths fossil coin

Take note – story published 3 years ago

The Latvian central bank (Latvijas banka, LB), has announced it is putting out yet another collector coin.

On Tuesday, 24 November, LB will issue a unique collector coin called "Ventastega", dedicated to the fossil remains of Ventastega curonica.

"The silver collector coin of Latvijas Banka is dedicated to an original and outstanding evidence of Latvian history providing an opportunity to learn about and understand the course of evolution, thus making the finding of Latvia's scientists particularly important globally," the ban said in its account of the forthcoming fossil.

 "The fossil remains of Ventastega curonica were found at rock exposures in the Venta River basin near Skrunda in Kurzeme. The name of the species bears reference to the Venta and Kurzeme, and by this name this animal is recognised among scientists and prehistory enthusiasts all over the world. Ventastega was a four-legged predator, with its length slightly over one metre; it lived approximately 365 million years ago. At that time, the territory of the present-day Latvia was located some degrees to the South from the equator, at the south-eastern edge of the palaeocontinent of Euramerica," LB explains.

This coin features the ventastega's skeleton marked in photo luminescent print, so it might also come in useful to scare small children.

"Keep the coin in direct bright light for at least 40 seconds; then look at it in the dark - ventastega's skeleton will glow," says LB.

Each coin costs 48 euros and will be on sale starting from 12.00 (noon) on 24 November via e-monetas.lv, Latvijas Banka's website for purchases of collector coins and other numismatic products.

The central bank has also made a short film about the coin, which you can watch below.

 

Seen a mistake?

Select text and press Ctrl+Enter to send a suggested correction to the editor

Select text and press Report a mistake to send a suggested correction to the editor

Related articles

More

Most important