Daniel’s Coin Zoo
www.coinzoo.net
Joe .F Kennedy
A website has been set up to display coins with animal designs from around the world. In an email conversation, I spoke with the website’s creator and Zoo Master, Daniel Clements about the new site.
JFK: Is the coin zoo free?
Zoo Master: The Coin Zoo web site is free for anybody to visit and use.
JFK: Can kids visit the zoo?
Zoo Master: My goal is to make the Coin Zoo very “kid friendly.” The information presented – geography, history, and animal information – does not go into too much depth, but there are lots of links if people want more information. I would like to develop the Coin Zoo into a good resource to give kids ideas for school projects. I try to present most of the information in an easy light-hearted way, although that can be difficult with some of the history. I think this is a web site that children will be able to visit while they are in school and learn something. (I am certainly learning a few things putting it together!)
JFK: How did you get into collecting animal coins?
Zoo Master: My main interest is Canadian colonial tokens, but I found myself coming away from some coin shows empty handed so I decided to collect world coins dated 1962 (my birth year) to give me a second goal. One day I was at a local coin shop searching through a treasure chest of coins, looking for pieces for my 1962 set. Lying on top was an Irish half-penny dated 1965 featuring a pig and her piglets. It was beautiful and I was immediately attracted to it, but the date was wrong. This was my first introduction to the wonderful Ireland “barn yard” series, but to my dismay I realized the half-penny was not minted in 1962. I bought the coin anyway. For $2, how could I go wrong? I took it home and showed my wife and told her it was the first coin of my “animal” set. Many months went by, and I was at a coin show in Hamilton. I casually peered into a dealer's bargain bin and spotted this beautiful “gold” coin – a half-sol from Peru – with an animal on it. I had no idea what the animal was, but the dealer told me it was a Vicuña. He explained that its wool was so soft and special it was reserved only for kings. He even wrote the name of the animal down and pointed out the accent over the letter n. All this for a 25¢ coin! That was my second animal coin, and the collection was under way.
JFK: Did you get encouragement to pursue this collection?
Zoo Master: I received encouragement of a general nature from members of the Canadian Coin Reference Site discussion group. An often repeated phrase among the group is “collect what you enjoy, collect what is fun.” This collection is definitely fun (and challenging).
JFK: I heard a Peruvian woman talk about the Vicuña on their coin. She said that Llama wool is nice and Alpaca wool is 10 times better, but Vicuña wool is 10 times better than that! Are there other exotic or extinct animals in the coin zoo?
Zoo Master: There will be at least two extinct animals (once I add the coins): The “Falkland Islands Fox” (50 pence) and the “Huia Bird” on the old 6-pence coin from New Zealand. The Huia Bird is an interesting story and unfortunately one that doesn't look good on mankind. That bird was hunted to extinction after its white-tipped black feathers became a fashion craze in the nineteenth century (mostly on women's hats). The last one was seen in 1907. This coin was issued from 1933 to 1965 (first in silver, then copper-nickel), but unfortunately it didn't make it onto the decimal coins. As for “exotic” animals, I guess that depends on where you are from! Many countries have exotic birds, but if you lived there they may not seem so exotic. There are lots of parrots and there's always the “Monkey-eating Eagle” from the Philippines. That sounds pretty exotic to me, but since I have not put that coin online yet, I don't know if it actually eats monkeys.
JFK: Are there mythical animals at the coin zoo?
Zoo Master: Yes, I decided to include mythological animals after I saw the 5 and 10 drachmai coins from Greece with Pegasus on them. Iceland also has some wonderful coins with mythical animals such as the Monster Bird, a “guardian spirit” that is part of the mythos of the country.
JFK: You say your first animal coin had a pig on it; are there more domestic animal coins? I notice wild animals are popular subjects on coins.
Zoo Master: There are a few other domestic animals. The Irish coins also feature a hen and her chicks, as well as a dog (Irish Wolf Hound). There are other dogs, and many horses. Cows also show up on a few coins, including a cow race on the Indonesian 100 rupiah coin. But the majority are wild animals.
JFK: Can you think of a notable or significant animal coin series?
Zoo Master: That's a tough one. I think any series of coins with animals is notable! The series that springs to my mind as both notable and historical is our very own centennial series. The centennial animal series by Alex Colville is loved by Canadian collectors and many others around the world. I find it very satisfying that Canada chose to express itself through animals in this way.
JFK: How are the animal exhibits organized on your website?
Zoo Master: You can select a country, and see all the coins for that country. You could also select an area (e.g., “Europe”), and see all the countries in that area, and how many coins are in the zoo for each country, and then choose a country from there. Or, you can select an animal class (e.g., “Birds”) and see all the animals from that class regardless of the country. I also plan to add some “special exhibits” in the future. This will be the spot for non-circulating legal tender coins that I happen to like, such as the Canadian 50¢ whale and birds of prey series. However, these won’t appear in the regular lists since that is reserved for circulating issues. Finally, there is a search function that works pretty well. For example, if you searched for “cow” you would find all the cow coins added so far, plus a few other coins such as the Brazilian 100-cruzeiros featuring a manatee (aka “cow of the sea”).
JFK: What’s your motivation to display the zoo collection as a website?
Zoo Master: After I started this collection, I dreamed up the idea of the Coin Zoo, and spent a lot of time thinking about it. I think every collector has a desire to show their collection to other people, so that is probably the main driving force. The internet is the ultimate vehicle for displaying a coin collection, since it can be viewed by anybody from all over the world. Then there is the desire to create something that other people find interesting, which I think is a natural part of human nature. In the end, I would like to build something that is not just fun and informative, but an actual reference for other collectors. To achieve that, I need to have all the animal coins displayed. Perhaps the site will even encourage some people to take up coin collecting.
JFK: Where do you get animal coins? Are they expensive?
Zoo Master: I have found the majority of the coins at coin shows and from online dealers. A handful were found at coin shops. Of the 590 coins I have so far in my collection, the prices range from five cents to ninety dollars. Out of a current list of 900 pieces, I would say that approximately two-thirds can be found for one dollar or less. Some pieces are expensive, though. The five most expensive pieces still on my want list could total $1,000. The bottom line is that a collector could put together many different topical collections (for example “Birds from Africa”) without great expense but with lots of challenge and fun.
JFK: You say you find it satisfying that Canada expressed itself with the Centennial coin series. Why do countries put animals on coins?
Zoo Master: I would like to believe it is due to the recognition that we are intimately connected with our natural surroundings and that preservation is a worthy goal. In the case of the Canadian centennial series, each design reflected certain characteristics or ideals of the people of the country. I can’t imagine how that would be achieved through something other than nature (fauna or flora) without alienating somebody somewhere. Everybody can relate to the native species of their country in some form.
JFK: In the whole world, how many new animal coins are created every year?
Zoo Master: That's a good question, and if anybody knows the answer I'd love it if they would contact me! One of my biggest challenges is discovering new issues around the world. Since most countries do not change their circulating coinage too often, the answer is probably none to few new animal coins each year.
JFK: Do you have a favorite animal coin?
Zoo Master: There are so many beautiful and interesting coins that I would find it impossible to pick just one. One day I may put together a few top ten lists – one for mammals, one for birds, and a third for all the rest. For now, I’ll name one of my newer acquisitions that I am quite pleased with: the 5 rouble coin from Spitzbergen (KM#14). The design features a whale over the top of the world and it is quite appealing. The other pieces from Spitzbergen are very nice, too. I never saw a single example of any of them after years of looking, and then I found a BU set all at once. That was a happy day!
JFK: How many animals are in the coin zoo now? What's in the future for the zoo?
Zoo Master: There are currently 223 coins on display from 45 countries. I have over 360 more coins in my collection waiting to be added, so I am not even half way there. Then there are over 300 coins I have yet to find, plus the ones I don’t even know about yet. This is definitely a long-term project.
Daniel’s Coin Zoo can be found at www.coinzoo.net