Silver coin Ice Age - Saber-toothed tiger stand

The third silver coin in the Czech Mint’s series titled Ice Age is dedicated to the feared saber-toothed tiger.

Although they are called saber-toothed tigers, these prehistoric cats were not related to their modern namesake. They were found in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, where the most famous representative of this subfamily, named Smilodon, lived until the end of the last Ice Age. Exceptionally large individuals weighed over 400 kilograms, and their characteristic canines measured 30 centimeters. These curved weapons protruded from the mouth, which the Smilodon could open to an angle of 120 degrees, which is nearly double that of today’s lion. They were razor-sharp and used for hunting large animals with thick skin. Compared to regular teeth, they required up to 50% less force to pierce skin and muscle, but the predator had to handle them with care. They broke easily, so the smilodon focused on the neck, belly, or other soft parts of its prey to avoid biting into hard bones. These feared beasts stood at the top of the prehistoric food chain, but their specialization proved to be their undoing. When the ecosystem changed and the large mastodons went extinct, the saber-toothed cats lost their advantage and gradually disappeared ten thousand years ago. The first humans who walked the North American continent at the end of the Ice Age, however, still had the misfortune of encountering a Smilodon…

On the reverse side of the coin, medalist MgA. Tereza Eisnerová has depicted the saber-toothed tiger twice. In one instance, it is a full view of the beast; in the other, a close-up of the head with its deadly fangs. The inscription features the Latin name of the prehistoric species, SMILODON. The surrounding landscape is covered with ochre enamel, evoking the atmosphere at the end of the Ice Age. Since coins from the Czech Mint are issued under a foreign license from the island of Niue, the obverse side also bears its national coat of arms, the nominal value of 5 DOLLARS (NZD), and the year of issue 2026.

The coin is supplemented with a thematic booklet.