WWF R2 Crown | SA Mint

The R2 Crown
The 50th Anniversary of the World Wide Fund for Nature

In April 1961, a small but influential group of European scientists, naturalists, business and political leaders who were earnestly concerned about conservation, joined forces to conceive the World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF). With HRH Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands as the WWF’s first president, the first WWF office opened on 11 September 1961. Since then, the WWF has become the world’s leading conservation organisation.

The South African Mint pays tribute to the WWF’s 50th Anniversary on the 2011 R2 Silver Crown. The endangered Blue Crane (Anthropoides paradiseus), South Africa’s national bird, is featured together with WWF’s offcial logo, the Panda, on the reverse of this coin. The WWF’s world-renowned Panda logo was inspired by the endangered giant panda named Chi Chi that arrived at the London Zoo in 1961. His appealing, black-patched eyes instantly won the hearts of the people and became the ideal symbol for global conservation.

The wild Blue Crane is under severe threat in South Africa due to lucrative captive crane trade. The loss and destruction of wetlands and their feeding grounds, due to human encroachment, often results in their being poisoned to prevent crop losses and the increase of electrification in their habitat areas, causes electrocution of the birds on power lines.

SPECIFICATIONS

	Mass	Diameter	Metal Content	Reverse Die-Sinker	Reverse Artist	Obverse Die-Sinker	Limited Edition
R2 Crown, Sterling Silver Coin	33.626 gram	38.725 mm	Ag 925 Cu 75	MD Mothobela	L Guerra	AL Sutherland	500