The Turtle Series Comes to an End

by Thomas Michiel

The final coin in the British Indian Ocean Territory 50 pence Turtle series has been released. Featuring the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle swimming upward to the right on its reverse, this fifth and last coin in the series now allows collectors to obtain a storyboard and display all five coins together for entertainment, education and the enjoyment of coin collecting.

The storyboard has room for all five coins in the series: Loggerhead Turtle, Leatherback Turtle, Hawksbill Turtle, Green Turtle, and Olive Ridley Turtle. On the facing page to the coin slots, each turtle is pictured and a brief informational paragraph is included for educational purposes, making this a lovely and relatively inexpensive gift for new collectors or those interested in sea turtles.

In embarking on this series, The British Pobjoy Mint recognized the significance of these animals. Sea Turtles have existed for 120 million years. They have a soft bony shell. Flipper-like limbs and spend an incredible 99% of their lives in the ocean. Maybe the most fascinating trait of Sea Turtles is their incredible ability to precisely navigate, every few years, back to the area where they were born.

Struck in copper-nickel with a diamond finish, these coins have been issued in velvet pouches at a recommended retail price of $14.95 and with limited mintages of 3,750 coins for each design. Each turtle is displayed in color and all can be combined in the storyboard album which can be purchased separately for $10. Visit the Pobjoy Mint website at www.pobjoy.com/us for more information.