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Some of the finest precious metal products available in the world today come from one of the world’s lesser-known sovereign mints. While giant facilities such as the United States Mint and Royal Canadian Mint dominate the industry with popular bullion and proof coin programs that garner international attention, the Bavarian State Mint quietly plugs away producing one of the hottest new coin programs available today. The Somalian Elephant coin in the African Wildlife Series is the mint’s number-one product, and is proudly carried by JM Bullion.
The Somalian Elephant bullion coin series is one of the most unique in the world right now. Only one other coin program boasts the unique history of the Somalian Elephant. Originally introduced in 1999, the coins were issued at that time for the nation of Zambia. The African Wildlife Series bearing images of the African elephant were struck for Zambia by the Bavarian State Mint from 1999 to 2003.
Starting in 2004, the coins were struck for the nation of Somalia. Each year the coin’s obverse face bears the image of the African elephant. The elephant is one of the most recognizable creatures from the African continent, and is the largest land mammal on planet Earth. Few people realize however, that the elephant actually consists of two different subspecies on the African continent.
The bush elephant is the one depicted on Somalian Elephant coins, and is the largest land mammal in the world. The forest elephant also roams the African wilderness, but is slightly smaller in stature than its bush elephant cousin. With that said, the forest elephant is the third largest land mammal in the world, giving it equal status among the kings of the animal kingdom.
Somalian Elephant coins are part of the African Wildlife Series, which is a slightly misleading name. While numerous mints in Germany produce African Wildlife-themed coins, the Bavarian State Mint’s African Wildlife Series features only the elephant. Although the elephant appears on the obverse every year, the specific design used by the Bavarian State Mint is different each year. The constant change creates interest among collectors in particular.
The original coins in the series featured .999 fine silver, a face value listed in Somali Shillings at 1,000 Shillings, and included all-new designs on the obverse face each year. The latest Somalian Elephant coins are available in silver in bullion, proof, and gilded versions, as well as in gold bullion and proof. All Silver Somalian Elephant and Gold Somalian Elephant coins feature .999 purity in the metal content, with a face value of 1 oz Silver coins set at 100 Shillings, while the face value on 1 oz. Gold coins is set at 1,000 Shillings.
Today, the silver program has grown to include both a bullion and proof version, with occasional gilded coins struck. The images on the obverse always invoke the same imagery, that of an individual elephant or a family herd, as well as familiar features of the African landscape, such as tall trees, the grasses of the savannas, and even Mount Kilimanjaro.
For example, the 2006 1 oz Silver Somalian Elephant coin featured a lone adult elephant with its trunk raised. In the distant background, the heights of Mount Kilimanjaro were visible. The 2016 Gold Somalian Elephant again features a lone adult elephant, but this time it is at the water’s edge, facing the viewer with its trunk raised, and the shoreline shrinks off into the distance as the sun rises into the sky.
All coins features similar engravings on the obverse side of the coin. Surrounding the African elephant motif, which is the same in each design year on both gold and silver coins, is the engraving “African Wildlife,” accompanied by the word “Elephant,” and the weight, metal content, and purity.
On the reverse is a common design set that is used on all coins, gold and silver, every year. This image has not changed since 2004, and features the coat of arms for Somalia. In the image a pair of leopards hold up a shield, which bears a single star against a backdrop of horizontal lines. The phrase “Somali Republic” is engraved above, with the year of issue split on either side of the shield, and the face value along the bottom.
On occasion, the Bavarian State Mint produces silver gilded coins that feature a given year’s design, with a gold layer over the elephant design on the reverse only. There are also occasional strikings of 1 Kilogram coins and high-relief proofs, though they are not produced with the regularity or volume of the gold and silver bullion versions of the coin.
As alluded to earlier, the Somalian Elephant coin from the Bavarian State Mint is a unique coin, for more reasons than just its changing nation of issue over time. Although it is not presented to collectors and investors as an official sovereign coin of Somalia, because of its engravings and production at a sovereign mint, many confuse it as a sovereign coin.
However, while the Bavarian State Mint claims to have a letter of authorization on file from an individual within the government of Somalia, the head of the nation’s central bank insists that no authorization was given to the Bavarian State Mint to produce these coins for the nation of Somalia. The current political climate in Somalia, with a fractured and ineffective central government ruling the capital and outlawed criminal groups controlling the countryside, makes it particularly difficult to establish the legal tender status of the Somalian Elephant.
With a history as rich and complex as that of the Bavarian State Mint, it’s impossible to image its modern reputation hinging on one coin. In addition to its currency production role in the Eurozone, the Bavarian State Mint currently produces Andorran Eagle bullion coins and has historically struck bullion coins for nations including, but not limited to, Austria, Belgium, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Japan, and the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen. In addition to coins, it produces medals and official seal plates such as the Olympic medals used at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich.
Founded in 1158 in the capital of Germany’s Bavarian region, Munich, the Bavarian State Mint is the oldest operating company in the city, and one of the oldest operating mint facilities in Germany and the whole of Europe. Today, the Bavarian State Mint is a state-owned entity of the government in the Free State of Bavaria, and operates as one of the five German government mints. Its history is one that is rich with coinage controversies, both past and present.
The Bavarian State Mint was initially constructed at the Schrannenplaz, which is now known as the Marienplaz. From the first year it was opened, it was authorized to strike coins for use in local economies. Within a century of its founding though, the Bavarian Mint had come under fire for controversy surrounding the production of its coins. By the decade of 1290, coins from the Bavarian State Mint were criticized and devalued for their low silver content.
At this point in time, the citizens of Bavaria rose up against the mint facility, not only destroying the coin forges at the Munich minting facility, but also killing the individual responsible for coin production at the time, known as the Munzmeister. The mint went through countless upheaval during the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th century. From the dual-coining of Austrian and Bavarian coins during Austrian occupation (1705-1714) following the War of Spanish Succession to its establishment as a national mint during the formation of the German Empire (or Second Reich) in 1871, the Bavarian State Mint has undergone a great deal of turmoil.
In the modern era, the Bavarian State Mint is one of the five national facilities controlled by the German government. Once authorized to print and strike German Deutschemark coins, it is now one of a handful of facilities in the Eurozone authorized to produce the common currency used by members of the economic bloc, the Euro (€). Even in the modern era though, the Bavarian State Mint is no stranger to currency controversies.
When you purchase Bavarian State Mint products from JM Bullion, we are proud to offer you free standard shipping on orders over $99, insurance, and multiple payment methods to complete your transaction. JM Bullion accepts major credit/debit cards, with the exception of AMEX, paper checks, Pay Pal fund transfers, and bank wire transfers.
Credit/debit cards have an average processing time of one business day. Paper checks take four to six days to process, and Pay Pal and bank wire transfers often process immediately. Those paying via paper check or bank wire enjoy a 4% discount on the total purchase price. Once your payment processes, your products move to our fulfillment queue.
All JM Bullion shipments are packaged in discreet boxes and handled by the US Postal Service or UPS. Free standard shipping is available, but you may also opt for expedited shipping for an additional fee. If your shipment is lost, stolen, or damaged, JM Bullion will work to provide you with a full refund or replacement products, depending upon availability.
If you have any questions about Bavarian State Mint products, please feel free to contact JM Bullion on the phone at 800-276-6508. You can also connect with us online using our live web chat or via email.
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