Silver Mammoth Coin & Woolly Mammoth De-extinction

As I a child I remember being fascinated by the woolly mammoth. These huge hairy elephant like creatures that once roamed the northern hemisphere in the cold of the last ice age just over 10,000 years ago. Some of our ancestors used to hunt these for not only all of the meat, but the fur, tusks, and bones. I'm very grateful I didn't live back then, hunting these giants with spears had to be more than just a little dangerous! However, they would have been an amazing site to behold.

Some time back I first noticed this coin when I was on APMEX looking for another item. I thought it looked a little odd, mostly because the mammoth looked more like an elephant. It then dawned on me that I wasn't looking at a woolly mammoth, but instead a Columbian mammoth. They lived farther south in more temperate climates and didn't need all of that fur.

At any rate, here's the coin that caught my eye that day:

From APMEX.com

About the coin:

From numista.com

This is a very limited coin of only 750 minted making it uncommon which is good for it's long term value. But, having King Charles on the obverse (front) of the coin kind of ruins it in my opinion. I have nothing again him personally, I just thing the Public Seal of Niue is a much more attractive design. They already use on many of their coins.

From numista.com

Wouldn't that look nicer? Or is just me? At any rate, these coins are selling for $124.99 on APMEX right now. It is a bit of a premium price though, if it weren't for the king being on the obverse I might think about buying one. So I won't be buyer on this one!

Now you many bring up the question, "then why share it?". Because it give me an excuse to talk about mammoths!

Mammoths

Woolly Mammoth

Woolly mammoth art from britannica.com

The woolly mammoth roamed the arctic regions of the earth for thousands of years. They lived in both North America as well as northern Asia and were true giants of the tundra. At the end of the last ice age around 10,000 years ago the habitat for the species began to shrink. Combine that with the hunting done by humans and it wasn't too long before this majestic species disappeared into the annals of history as extinct.

app.emaze.com , a perfectly preserved woolly mammoth

Over recent years there have been more and more mammoths found preserved in the permafrost in Russia and Canada. Not only have they yielded information about how they lived but also precious DNA. This has started a race to bring back the species from extinction. There are companies in South Korea and the United States trying to edit the genome into that of Asian elephants which is 99.6% identical. Once complete it will be inserted into an elephant mother's egg and gestated in an African elephant and the woolly mammoth will be back from the dead. Much like the dire wolf recently was brought back from extinction.

If you've always wanted to see a woolly mammoth, you may yet have the chance in just the next few years!

Columbian Mammoth

Columbian mammoth art from nps.gov

This close cousin of the woolly mammoth preferred much more temperate climates. They roamed over most of the present day United States and down into Mexico and Central America along the Pacific coastline. It's believed they were far less hairy than their arctic dwelling cousins, although intact hair samples found look identical to those from the woolly mammoth.

We know that early American dwelling humans hunted them as many of the bones discovered have been turned into tools. Their are even drawings engraved by humans living at the time found in bone and on stone walls. This one was found in Vero Beach, Florida carved in mammoth bone:

Robert G. Bednarik

It is unclear why these giants went extinct. Hunting was probably a factor but surely not the only one. Something else in the environment may have changed that made their existence more difficult. Although some DNA has been recovered from these giants, not nearly enough to attempt to recreate the species. Because they died in a warmer climate their remains weren't preserved nearly as well as those frozen in permafrost. We may never see this species come back to life, but advances made in genetics may yet find a way!

That will wrap up my post for the day. I hope you enjoyed it and found it interesting. Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below. Thank you so much for all of your support, it's greatly appreciated. Have a great week everyone!

References:

https://www.apmex.com/product/309308/2025-niue-1-oz-silver-proof-mammoth-with-box-coa

https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces441649.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbian_mammoth

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolly_mammoth

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/animals/a42708517/scientists-reincarnating-woolly-mammoth/

Disclaimer

I am not a financial planner and this isn't financial advice. Please always do your own research before investing your money. You worked hard enough to earn it!

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