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World Natural Heritage – Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians

€100 gold collector coin

The obverse of the coin
The reverse of the coin

The primeval beech forests of the Carpathians are a cross-border habitat included in UNESCO’s World Heritage List. They comprise ten separate sites: four in Slovakia and six in Ukraine. Those in Slovakia are the forest of Vihorlat, located in the Vihorlat Protected Landscape Area, and the forests of Havešová, Rožok, and Stužica, in the Poloniny National Park. The Carpathian primeval beech forests are a chain of enclaves of undisturbed forests and primeval forests constituting a beech gene bank of global importance. Some specimens have exceptionally thick trunks and the tallest stand at around 58 metres, a world record for beech trees. Their entry in the UNESCO World Heritage List was approved on 28 June 2007 by the World Heritage Committee. In 2011 five other sites in Germany were included in the entry, which was then named the Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany.

  • Coin description

    Obverse:
    Prominent on the obverse of the coin, in a circular frame, is rosalia longicorn , one of the characteristic species of the Carpathian primeval beech forests. In the upper part of the coin field are flowers and leaves of Carpathian toothwort. Close to the upper edge is the coat of arms of the Slovak Republic and below it the denomination and currency 100 EURO. The name of issuing country SLOVENSKO is inscribed in the lower part. To the left of the beetle is the year 2015.

    Reverse:
    The reverse shows the primeval beech forest habitat with leaves and nuts of the European beech to their right. Along the left-hand edge runs the inscription SVETOVÉ PRÍRODNÉ DEDIČSTVO (World Natural Heritage) and opposite to it, along the right-hand edge, is the text KARPATSKÉ BUKOVÉ PRALESY (Carpathian primeval beech forests). The stylized initials of the coin designer Mária Poldaufová MP and the Kremnica Mint Mark MK are placed in the upper left part of the coin.

  • Coin details
    Designer:Mária Poldaufová
    Composition:.900 gold, .75 silver, .25 copper
    Weight:9.5 g
    Diameter:26 mm
    Edge:milled
    Producer:Kremnica Mint
    Engraver:Dalibor Schmidt
    Issuing volume:4,100 in proof quality
    Issuing date:3 December 2015