Natura Series | SA Mint

Natura Series
Safari through South Africa - The Black Rhino

The Natura’s “Safari through South Africa” theme commenced in 2009 with the White Rhinoceros. The critically endangered Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) is featured on the 2010 Natura series and together with the 2009 series, these coins highlight the severe threat these rhinos now face from poachers who use highly sophisticated equipment and poaching methods.

The name Black Rhinoceros was chosen to distinguish it from the White Rhinoceros. Both names are misleading as the two species are not really distinguishable by color. The White Rhino is a mistranslation of the Dutch word wijd for wide, referring to its square upper lip with which to eat grass, as opposed to the pointed or hooked lip of the leaf-eating Black Rhino. They are now often referred to as the Square-lipped (for White) or Hook-lipped (for Black) Rhino. The Black Rhino can be distinguished from the White Rhino by its smaller body, skull and ears and of course, its mouth.

The Black Rhino is an herbivorous browser that eats leafy plants, branches, shoots, thorny wood bushes, and fruit. Their diet helps to reduce the amount of woody plants which results in more grasses growing for the benefit of other animals and they can live for up to 5 days without water during a drought.

Black Rhinos are solitary animals except when they come together to mate. Mothers and calves will sometimes congregate in small groups for short periods of time and the calf will stay with the mother for 2–3 years until the next calf is born. In natural conditions, the life expectancy of the Black Rhino is from 35-50 years. However, with the current renewed interest in the mythical powers of rhino horns, this species faces extinction instead of a long life. Depicted on each coin is the IUCN Red List “1970 – 70,000; 2010 – 4,240”. These statistics embedded in gold, affirm that the Black Rhino is now in critical danger of extinction!

SPECIFICATIONS

	Mass	Diameter	Metal Content	Reverse Die-Sinker	Reverse Artist	Obverse Die-Sinker	Obverse Artist	Limited Edition
1 oz (R 100), 24ct Gold Coin	31.107 gram	32.69 mm	Au 999.9	MJ Scheepers	N van Niekerk	C Moses	N van Niekerk	1500
1/2 oz (R 50), 24ct Gold Coin	15.553 gram	27.00 mm	Au 999.9	MD Maloka	N van Niekerk	C Moses	N van Niekerk	1500
1/4 oz (R 20), 24ct Gold Coin	7.777 gram	22.00 mm	Au 999.9	VL Chipa	N van Niekerk	C Moses	N van Niekerk	3000
1/10 oz (R 10), 24 ct Gold Coin	3.110 gram	16.50 mm	Au 999.9	MD Maloka	N van Niekerk	C Moses	N van Niekerk	3000
Natura Prestige Set								1000