Poland Mint Release Nordic Gold and Silver Coins To Honor The European Green Lizard

Issued in April as part of the ongoing Polish coin series entitled "Animals of the World", the National Bank of Poland has released two commemoratives to pay tribute to the European Green Lizard. Struck at the Polish Mint (Mennica Polska), the coins are available in either 20 zloty silver proof or 2 zloty Nordic gold brilliant uncirculated quality.


Poland 2009 20Zl European Green Lizard Silver Proof

The European Green Lizard (Lacerta viridis) had been documented throughout much of Eastern Europe including Hungary, Germany, Turkey, Ukraine, Slovakia, Czech Republic and of course, Poland. These days, however, the European Green Lizard is considered extinct in Poland, with only two cases of them being found in the Polish territory since World War II; once in 1972 that is disputed, and once several years later that turned out to not be the same species known as the European Green Lizard. Despite various claims each year of the discovery of the lizards on Polish territory, no actual proof has been given to substantiate the claims, and so the lizard remains on the extinct animals list for Poland. In other countries it can be found and is listed in various Red Data Books for endangered species.

The European Green Lizard can grow up to lengths of 40 centimetres, with the tail alone sometimes being twice as long as the body. The females of the species are more slender than the males and have a more uniform colouring - while the males will get a bluish ting to their throats during the mating season.

The Mennica Polsk has struck their European Green Lizard commemoratives with two distinct designs, both created by well-known mint sculptors Ewa Tyc-Karpińska (obverse) and Robert Kotowicz (reverse). The silver proof issue shows two lizards amongst foliage, with one of the lizards standing upon a rock. Around the edge of the coin is the inscription "JASZCZURKA ZIELONA – Lacerta viridis". The obverse design features the Emblem for the Republic of Poland; the White Eagle, with the Polish Republic flag shown on either side. Below is the year of issue and nominal face value. This issue has been struck to exact proof standards from 28.28 grams of 92.5% silver on a 38.61mm flan, with a mintage of 100,000 silver coins issued worldwide.


Poland 2009 2Zl European Green Lizard Nordic Gold BU

The reverse design of the 2 zloty Nordic gold release shows two lizards gathered together on a rock, surrounded by plant-life. To the left is the inscription "JASZCZURKA ZIELONA", while on the right is "Lacerta viridis". The obverse of this coin is very similar to the 20 zloty coin except for the face value in the lower portion of the coin. The Nordic gold release is struck in a standard finish on a 27.00mm flan weighing 8.15 grams. A total mintage of 1,700,000 coins has been set for this issue.

Euro Collections International has both the Poland 2009 20Zl European Green Lizard Silver Proof and Poland 2009 2Zl European Green Lizard Nordic Gold Brilliant Uncirculated coin available on their website. To be notified of new arrivals as they happen you can follow us on Twitter, or simply visit our "What's New" page.