Canada 2014 Rocky Mountain BIGHORN SHEEP $300 Pure Platinum Proof

Description: In Stock and Ready for Immediate Shipment!Long SOLD OUT at the Royal Canadian Mint! TRULY RARE (mintage limit = 250) pure platinum proof features a masterwork of wildlife fine art, a Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep ram by Emily Damstra, intricately rendered on this meticulously engraved beauty! Talisman Coins is proud to bring you the latest in the Royal Canadian Mint's Canadian Wildlife Exploration Program, featuring realistic, naturalistic representations of some of Canada's best-known animals! These outstanding wildlife designs recall those found on one of the most popular programs ever from the Royal Canadian Mint - the Wildlife Coin & Stamps Sets! The latest in the series features the powerful, head butting Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Ram! Following hot on the heels of the extremely successful introduction of the Robert Bateman Moose Series (with coins available in silver, gold and platinum), the Bighorn Sheep seems certain to be at least as popular! The coin design by wildlife artist Emily Damstra (rendered in exceptional detail) depicts a profile view of the statuesque curly-horned head of an adult Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep ram. Exquisite detailing highlights the annulus ridges of the regal ruminant’s blunt-ended left horn, which curls to within inches of its far-seeing eyes. The animal’s dark, short hair and light-colored muzzle are brought to life through incredibly fine detail and engraving. The Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep As the frigid winds of late autumn howl along the uninhabitable cliffs and high passes of the Rocky Mountain range, a titanic battle unfolds beyond the scope of human eyes. Two Rocky Mountain Bighorn rams square off, rising on hind legs, only to launch themselves at one another at speeds of more than 20 miles per hour. Skull meets skull, horn hammers horn, and the resulting crash can be heard a mile or more away. Scientists believe that the Bighorn Sheep of North America (including the Rocky Mountain, Sierra Nevada, and Desert subspecies) originally arrived via Siberia’s Bering land bridge some 20,000 years ago, reaching a population of more than one million by the middle of the nineteenth century. Between 1850 and 1900, however, this population drastically declined in the face of habitat loss and disease introduced by domestic animals. Today, conservation efforts have helped to stabilize the total American Bighorn population at about 42,000, but the species is unlikely to ever again reach its pre-settlement numbers. Nevertheless, the stalwart Rocky Mountain Bighorn subspecies (Ovis canadensis canadensis) remains robust, both collectively and individually. Its powerful body, covered in brown fur with white patches, weighs between 65 and 118 kilograms for males and 43 and 83 kilograms for females. Very large rams can weigh in at more than 120 kilograms at the height of health going into the autumn rut. In June, the animals shed their winter hair and grow the new coat that will take them, eventually, into autumn once again. The ram’s massive curved horns are instantly recognizable, and people who see these horns in person are often amazed at their size. Large horns can weigh as much as the animal’s entire skeleton (up to 14 kilograms), measure 125 centimeters long, and have a circumference at the base of 450 millimeters or more. Bighorns do not shed their horns. The horns have an outer sheath of material similar to our fingernails. A deep annulus ridge is produced annually in the sheath when horn growth stops during the winter months, making it possible to read an animal’s age much as one might count rings in a tree trunk. The bony cores of the horns and large fluid-filled spaces in the cranium buffer the force of clashes so that head-butting males do not seem to feel the effects of collisions that would instantly kill most other mammals. Although the rams’ horns garner the greatest attention, many of the Bighorn’s other adaptations are noteworthy too. Their eyes, for instance, though wide-set, sit far forward, giving this denizen of wide-open spaces a broad field of vision. Its hooves are unique as well. An external buttress of modified toenail grips cliff shelves as small as 5 centimeters deep, while a soft inner pad can adhere to almost any surface. Like all ruminants, Bighorns can store large quantities of undigested grass in their four part stomachs, allowing them to quickly move into the relative safety of mountain cliffs to regurgitate, chew, and digest their food. Their digestive process also extracts considerable liquid from their food so that they can go without water for long periods. The Bighorn has a well-established social structure where rams and ewes live in separate herds and generally meet only during mating season. Female herds tend to consist of mothers and daughters, generally led by an older matriarch. Young males will leave their mother group to find a bachelor herd at about 3 years of age. Among the Bighorn populations in Canada, the lambing season starts in early May and peaks in the middle of June. Ewes bear a single lamb annually (with the exception of occasional twins), usually going into brief seclusion for the birth and earliest days of the lamb’s life. After two or three days, the newborn walks behind its mother to rejoin the safety of the herd. In Canada, the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep inhabits the Rocky Mountains of central and eastern British Columbia and western Alberta. While they do not technically migrate, herds travel seasonally from highland habitats in the summer to lower, south-facing valleys in the winter, where they can forage beneath the snow for grasses. Although the Rocky Mountain Bighorn does face predation by eagles, cougars, lynx, bears, coyotes, wolves, and humans, disease and habitat loss are its greatest threats. Investment Note What an opportunity - a one ounce, pure platinum proof coin, featuring an intricately detailed, frosted cameo portrait of a Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Ram! What's more, the Bighorn Sheep $300 Platinum Proof has a total mintage of only 250, making it exceedingly rare! The One Ounce Pure Platinum Proofs from the Royal Canadian Mint always sell out quickly, so don't delay! If you need further proof of the investment potential of this beauty, consider the recent value of platinum - it has recently traded in the $2200 per ounce range! Platinum is the rarest, hardest to find, mine and refine of all the precious metals, and has a number of non-recoverable uses, so the sky's the limit. Only 250 lucky individuals can ever own one of these gems, so get yours today! Obverse A realistic, intricately detailed, frosted cameo bust portrait of a Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Ram. The denomination and date of issue also appear, while the legend 9995 PLAT. guarantees the metal and purity. Reverse Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, in profile facing right. This portrait, the fourth effigy of the queen to appear on Canadian coinage, was executed by the artist Susanna Blunt. The legend ELIZABETH II D. G. REGINA ("Elizabeth II, Queen by the Grace of God") and mint mark also appear. Packaging The coin is encapsulated inside a burgundy leatherette, clamshell-style presentation case, lined with black velvet and protected by a black outer sleeve. An individually-numbered certificate of authenticity is included. Specifications Country Canada Year of Issue 2014 Face Value 300 Dollars Weight 31.16 g Diameter 30.00 mm Mintage Limit 250 Finish Proof Composition .9995 Fine (Pure) Platinum Edge Serrated (reeded, milled) Artist Emily Damstra Certificate Individually Numbered Complete Certificate Text Clashing Titans of the Wind-Swept Crag: The Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep As the frigid winds of late autumn howl along the uninhabitable cliffs and high passes of Canada’s Rocky Mountain range, a titanic battle unfolds beyond the scope of human eyes. Two Rocky Mountain Bighorn rams square off, rising on hind legs, only to launch themselves at one another at speeds of more than 30 kilometres per hour. Skull meets skull, horn hammers horn, and the resulting crash can be heard more than one kilometre away. Scientists believe that the Bighorn Sheep of North America, including the Rocky Mountain, Sierra Nevada, and Desert subspecies, originally arrived via Siberia’s Bering land bridge some 20,000 years ago, reaching a population of more than one million by the middle of the nineteenth century. Between 1850 and 1900, however, this population drastically declined in the face of habitat loss and disease introduced by domestic animals. Today, conservation efforts have helped to stabilize the total North American Bighorn population at about 42,000, but the species is unlikely to ever again reach its pre-settlement numbers. Nevertheless, the stalwart Rocky Mountain Bighorn subspecies (Ovis canadensis canadensis) remains robust, both collectively and individually. Its powerful body, covered in brown fur with white patches, weighs between 65 and 118 kilograms for males and 43 and 83 kilograms for females. Very large rams can weigh in at more than 120 kilograms at the height of health going into the autumn rut. In June, the animals shed their winter hair and grow the new coat that will take them, eventually, into autumn once again. The ram’s massive curved horns are instantly recognizable, and people who see these horns in person are often amazed at their size. Large horns can weigh as much as the animal’s entire skeleton (up to 14 kilograms), measure 125 centimetres long, and have a circumference at the base of 450 millimetres or more. Bighorns do not shed their horns. The horns have an outer sheath of material similar to our fingernails. A deep annulus ridge is produced annually in the sheath when horn growth stops during the winter months, making it possible to read an animal’s age much as one might count rings in a tree trunk. The bony cores of the horns and large fluid-filled spaces in the cranium buffer the force of clashes so that head-butting males do not seem to feel the effects of collisions that would instantly kill most other mammals. Although the rams’ horns garner the greatest attention, many of the Bighorn’s other adaptations are noteworthy too. Their eyes, for instance, though wide-set, sit far forward, giving this denizen of wide-open spaces a broad field of vision. Its hooves are unique as well. An external buttress of modified toenail grips cliff shelves as small as 5 centimetres deep, while a soft inner pad can adhere to almost any surface. Like all ruminants, Bighorns can store large quantities of undigested grass in their four part stomachs, allowing them to quickly move into the relative safety of mountain cliffs to regurgitate, chew, and digest their food. Their digestive process also extracts considerable liquid from their food so that they can go without water for long periods. The Bighorn has a well-established social structure where rams and ewes live in separate herds and generally meet only during mating season. Female herds tend to consist of mothers and daughters, generally led by an older matriarch. Young males will leave their mother group to find a bachelor herd at about 3 years of age. Among the Bighorn populations in Canada, the lambing season starts in early May and peaks in the middle of June. Ewes bear a single lamb annually (with the exception of occasional twins), usually going into brief seclusion for the birth and earliest days of the lamb’s life. After two or three days, the newborn walks behind its mother to rejoin the safety of the herd. In Canada, the Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep inhabits the Rocky Mountains of central and eastern British Columbia and western Alberta. While they do not technically migrate, herds travel seasonally from highland habitats in the summer to lower, south-facing valleys in the winter, where they can forage beneath the snow for grasses. Although the Rocky Mountain Bighorn does face predation by eagles, cougars, lynx, bears, coyotes, wolves, and humans, disease and habitat loss are its greatest threats. Copyright © 2024 Talisman World Coins and Medals. All Rights Reserved.

Price: 2999.95 USD

Location: Saint Louis, Missouri

End Time: 2025-02-03T17:18:43.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD