- Mintage Limit ONLY - 6000
- Each coin is struck from 28.28g of pure silver
- Coin in capsule+with Certificate of Authenticity
The fastest animal in the Western hemisphere
Many people know the cheetah is the fastest runner, reaching speeds of up to 100 km/h. However, at that speed it can’t cover much more than 200 metres, and then must lie down for half an hour, panting heavily. The pronghorn can run several kilometres at 90 km/h! Why did nature create such a wonder, when just half that speed would be enough to flee all the pumas, wolves and coyotes?
This skill may be a legacy from 18 000 years ago, when the pronghorn shared its prairie habitat with the American cheetah. We don’t know how that cheetah ran, but it was probably to escape it that this incredible machine, the pronghorn, evolved.
Running speed and endurance depend on how fast the body can supply oxygen to the muscles. The efficiency of lungs in the pronghorn is five times that of any similar animal, it has five times as much haemoglobin and a few other improvements, too.
Obverse:
In the central part of the coin: an image of a head of the queen with the inscription: Elizabeth II, 2010 the mark of the Mint of Poland (MW). Below it, along the rim the inscription: 1 Dollar. In the background: images of animal’s tracks and plants. On the left side, along the rim the inscription: Niue Island.
Reverse:
In the central part of the coin: three acts of the pronghorn’s run. In the background: a mountainous landscape. At the bottom, along the rim the inscription: ANTILOCAPRA AMERICANA (Latin name of the pronghorn).