COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
REIGN OF ELIZABETH II (1952-PRESENT)
DISCOVER AUSTRALIA SERIES - SALTWATER CROCODILE
GOLD $50 COIN CERTIFIED BY NGC PROOF 70 ULTRA CAMEO
ONLY 588 MINTED!
OBV: ELIZABETH II PORTRAIT HEAD WITH TIARA RIGHT.
REV: SALTWATER CROCODILE 3/4 FACING STANDING IN WATER WITH MOUTH OPEN, LILLY PADS BELOW; DATE LOWER RIGHT.
THE SALTWATER CROCODILE (CROCODYLUS POROSUS) IS THE LARGEST OF ALL LIVING REPTILES. MALES CAN REACH SIZES UP TO 20.7 FEET IN LENGTH, AND POSSIBLY UP TO 23.0 FEET.
THIS SPECIES USUALLY RESIDES IN SALINE AND BRACKISH MANGROVE SWAMPS, ESTUARIES, DELTAS, LAGOONS, AND LOWER STRETCHES OF RIVERS, BUT CAN ALSO LIVE IN MARINE AREAS. THEY HAVE THE BROADEST RANGE OF ANY CROCODILE SPECIES, FROM THE EASTERN COAST OF INDIA, THROUGHOUT SOUTHEAST ASIA, AND NORTHERN AUSTRALIA.
THIS LARGE AND OPPORTUNISTIC HYPERCARNIVOROUS APEX PREDATOR AMBUSHES MOST OF ITS PREY, WHICH ARE THEN DROWNED OR SWALLOWED WHOLE.
ANY ANIMAL THAT ENTERS THE TERRITORY OF A SALTWATER CROCODILE WILL PROBABLY BE OUTMATCHED, INCLUDING SHARKS, OTHER APEX PREDATORS, AND HUMANS. BECAUSE OF THEIR SIZE, AGGRESSION AND WIDE DISTRIBUTION THEY ARE REGARDED, ALONG WITH THE NILE CROCODILE, AS THE MOST DANGEROUS CROCODILIAN SPECIES TO HUMANS.
THE SALTWATER CROCODILE IS THRIVING IN NORTHERN AUSTRALIA, ESPECIALLY IN THE MULTIPLE RIVER SYSTEMS NEAR DARWIN, AND THEIR BILLABONGS AND ESTUARIES. POPULATIONS IN AUSTRALIA ARE ESTIMATED AT 100,000 TO 200,000 ADULTS.
THE SPECIES HOLDS THE RECORD FOR THE HIGHEST BITE FORCE EVER RECORDED IN ANY ANIMAL. OF ALL THE CROCS, IT HAS THE STRONGEST AFFINITY FOR PERCEIVING HUMANS AS PREY, AND THERE IS A LONG DOCUMENTATION OF SUCH ATTACKS. DUE TO ITS SPEED, SIZE AND SHEER POWER, A DIRECT PREDATORY ATTACK FROM A SALTWATER CROCODILE MAKES SURVIVABILITY UNLIKELY.
KM# 952
CONTAINS 15.5 GRAMS OF .999 FINE GOLD (.5 OZ AGW)
25 mm IN DIAMETER
ONLY 588 MINTED!
PERTH MINT
