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Few coins have enjoyed the type of meteoric rise in popularity that the Somalian Elephant Coin from the Bavarian State Mint has enjoyed. First released in 2004 as a silver coin with just one weight available, the series has grown with time to include bullion and proof options, as well as gold, silver, and platinum coins in varying weights and sizes.
Introduced with that singular weight in the silver version, today the Somalian Silver Elephant coins have grown to offer some of the greatest varieties of weights in the industry. Few coins now have the same options for investors as the Silver Elephant, and 2017 is the year investors will look back at as the seminal year in the evolution of this coin collection. Browse the breadth and depth of these beautiful silver bullion coins today courtesy of JM Bullion.
The Somalian Elephant coins are among the most intriguing produced in the world today, in part because of the mystery behind the evolution of these silver coins. It starts with the name of the series the coins come from, the African Wildlife Series. While it would seem to indicate a robust series of coins celebrating multiple species commonly found on the African continent, the elephant is the only animal to appear on a coin branded with the African Wildlife Series title.
Adding to the intrigue of the coin was its original production as a coin for the nation of Zambia. Although the specific coins in question, Somalian Silver Elephants, date back to 2004 as a series, the elephant made its first appearance on African Wildlife Series coins in 1999. From that year until 2003, these coins were struck with the same characteristics and branding by the Bavarian State Mint with Zambia as the nation of issue.
In the 13 years since its 2004 introduction, the Somalian Silver Elephant coin has grown from a one-weight bullion and proof series with very low mintages to become a powerhouse in the industry that commands attention with each new release. From 2004 to 2008, the coins were restricted to a mintage of just 5,000 coins annually.
Beginning in 2009, restrictions on mintage were removed and the coin was struck at higher levels to meet the rising demand for gold and silver. This continues today, as the Somalian Elephant Series not only expands its mintage, but also diversifies its lineup to meet the demands of any numismatist.
The 2017 release is a big year for the Somalian Elephant program as a whole, and JM Bullion has you covered. This marks the first year the Somalian Silver Elephant is available in fractional weights, with 1/10 oz, ¼ oz, and ½ oz specimens added, and it is also the first year for 2 oz, 5 oz, and 10 oz silver coins.
Of course, there’s a new Somalian Elephant Series design for 2017, in keeping with the history of the series as a whole. While the reverse design always changes, the theme remains focused on the African elephant, the planet’s largest land mammal. For the 2017 Somalian Elephant, you’ll find a large bull elephant on the obverse face with a hut and small cluster of palm trees in the background.
Engravings on the obverse include “African Wildlife,” “Elephant,” and the coin’s weight, metal content, and purity. The reverse of all Somalian Elephant Coins continues to feature the coat of arms for the Republic of Somalia. Engravings here read “Somali Republic,” “2017,” and the individual face value of the coins in Somali Shillings.
With the all-new release of three fractional-weight Silver Elephants and the three new larger weight coins, the Bavarian State Mint has no mintage figures set for the Somalian Elephant series. Although the series formerly had strict mintage figures set, in light of rising demand for silver coins and other silver bullion, the Bavarian State Mint has moved more toward minting the coins to meet demand in the industry.
All that said, as of 2017 there is no expected mintage figure set for the new fractional-weight coins and the 2 oz, 5 oz, and 10 oz options. The 2017 1 oz Somalian Silver Elephant will be available in individual protective capsules, mint tubes of 20, or sealed boxes of 500 coins. While the 1 oz coin maintains its 100 Shilling (Somali) face value, the new coins have the following face values assigned:
The Somalian Silver Elephant releases as of 2017 have a variety of options available to suit both collectors and investors. All of the 2017 Somalian Silver Elephant weights are available in a BU condition. Coins in this condition exhibit no signs of wear and tear, though you may notice a range of minor flaws including breaks in the luster, spotted surfaces, and contact marks from the coining process at the mint.
Additionally, the 1 oz weights in the series are available with a Gilded finish (BU), colorized finish, and as part of a two-coin Day and Night Set. The Gilded Somalian Silver Elephant Coins have a 24-karat gold layering on the African elephant design of the obverse. This popular gilded finish was introduced in the last few years and offers the best combination of silver and gold in one coin. There is limited availability of just 3,000 coins with the gilded finish.
The Colorized 2017 Silver Elephants have added beauty through the application of colorization to the primary design features of the coin’s obverse face. The image of the elephant on this year’s release has been brought to life with real-world hues and makes the coin’s image jump off the surface and into reality. Limited mintage here is set at just 5,000 coins.
For the Day and Night Two-Coin Sets there is a brilliantly colorized obverse design field. On the Day Coin the background is lit by beautiful natural tones of blue for the sky, and green for the long grasses. The hut is colorized with brown, and the sun in the sky above shines a bright yellow.
For the Night Coin in the set, you’ll notice the same scenery in its exact opposite state of being. The grass is a darker hue of green, while the hut is dimly lit with brown. The night sky has taken on a darker blue and black feel, while the sun is gone to be replaced by the bright white of a moonlit sky. These sets are extremely limited in terms of availability, with just 500 sets made available for purchase.
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.
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.
JM Bullion accepts various forms of payment for your purchase of Somalian Silver Elephant coins. You can pay by credit/debit card, with all major cards accepted with the exception of American Express (as of Dec. 2014). Paper checks, bank wire transfers, and PayPal fund transfers are also accepted by JM Bullion. Bank wire and PayPal transfers offer immediate processing, with credit/debit cards processing in one business day on average and paper checks taking 4 to 6 business days to process.
In addition to flexible payment methods, JM Bullion offers free standard shipping and insurance on all purchases. Your Somalian Silver Elephant Coins will be packaged in discreet boxes to protect the identity of the products within, and delivered to you via the US Postal Service or UPS. For those interested, expedited shipping is available for an additional fee. If your packages are lost or damaged during shipping, we’ll find you a replacement product or refund your purchase price.
If you have any questions about Somalian Silver Elephants, JM Bullion payment methods, or our shipping policies, please feel free to reach out to us. Our associates are available at 800-276-6508, online using our live web chat, and via email. Don’t forget to visit our homepage and search for the latest spot price of silver before you buy!
