Silver coin Ice Age - Armadillo stand

The fourth silver coin in the Czech Mint's series entitled Ice Age is dedicated to giant armadillos.

Glyptodons – gigantic armored mammals that were distant relatives of modern armadillos – lived in what is now South America, where they appeared three million years ago. Their bodies reached a length of up to 3.5 meters, a height of 1.5 meters, and a weight of 2 tons. In size, they were similar to a small passenger car. To defend themselves against predators such as giant bears and saber-toothed tigers, these herbivores evolved a shell. This immovable armor, which weighed over 400 kilograms, consisted of a thousand hexagonal bony plates that were up to 7 centimeters thick. The armour was pierced by clawed limbs, a head that was also armoured, and a tail that served as a bony club. Glyptodons wielded this deadly weapon with blunt spikes during mating season, when they competed for the attention of females, or when threatened. They had to be wary of early humans, who coveted their meat and shells, which could be used as dwellings. However, the giant armadillo was not easy prey – a hunting group had to turn it onto its back and attack the unprotected underside of its body. It was humans, together with climate change, who contributed to the extinction of glyptodons at the end of the Ice Age eleven thousand years ago.

Medalist MgA.Tereza Eisnerová depicted a pair of giant armadillos on the reverse side of the coin. The inscription gives the Latin name of the prehistoric species GLYPTODON. The surrounding landscape is colored blue using coloring and enamel to evoke nighttime. Since the coins from the Czech Mint are issued with a foreign license from the island of Niue, they also bear its national emblem, the nominal value of 5 DOLLARS (NZD), and the year of issue 2026 on the obverse side.

The coin is accompanied by a thematic brochure.