Silver Coin
Tertiary − Life on the Ground

Beginning after an asteroid collided with earth over 65 million years ago, the Tertiary was the period when the Earth started to resemble more closely the planet we inhabit today. The Himalayas, the Alps and the Carpathians, were formed, as was the Mediterranean Sea. The dinosaurs became extinct, but with the development of new habitats early mammals such as elephants, giraffes and big cats came into being. With its massive canine teeth the sabre-toothed cat captures the imagination or strikes fear like no other. The fourth coin in our Prehistoric Life: Back from the Dead celebrates this magnificent beast in appropriately dramatic fashion.

The fearsome predator features on both sides of Tertiary – Life on the Ground. On the obverse we see the animal itself as well as a detailed representation of its skull containing its trademark ‘sabre’ teeth. The latter fits cleverly within the timeline corresponding to the Tertiary period, which was actually divided into the Paleogene and Neogene periods of the Cenozoic era. This feature unites all five coins and is yet another reason for completing this fascinating series. On the reverse, an action scene shows a sabre-toothed cat attacking a startled chalicotherium, an odd-looking herbivore with long-clawed forelimbs. Both sides show the swampy natural habitat common in a period when the climate cooled to the extent that the first glacier appeared at the South Pole about 30 million years ago.

Struck in Proof quality only to a maximum mintage of 50,000, the coin is available in our Classic packaging option with information about the prehistoric period, as well as our Discovery edition, which features a wealth of extras.