A little wonder, every day
A coin with a mammoth-tusk insert
Cross-section of a Siberian mammoth tusk, a contextual image of tusk material; it does not depict the coin insert.
A 2010 collector coin issued for Côte d’Ivoire, with a face value of one thousand CFA francs, has an unusual insert. A catalogue and a mint retailer’s specification describe it as a piece of mammoth tusk. It is part of a silver commemorative coin’s design rather than ordinary small change for everyday purchases. [1, 2]
The mammoth image and the insert’s material should be distinguished: a picture on a coin does not itself establish a fragment’s origin. The tusk identification belongs to this collector issue’s description, rather than an independent laboratory determination of every insert. [1, 2]