sk sk

Fauna and flora in Slovakia – the European bison

€5 base metal collector coin

The obverse side of the coin
The reverse side of the coin

The bison is Europe’s largest land mammal, with its build resembling that of cattle. It has a relatively short, rounded head and is covered with brown hair from head to tail. The forequarters are bulkier than the hindquarters and are further accentuated by longer hair. Strong, hollow horns are a permanent feature of both sexes and grow with age. Bison are most active at dusk, and their vision has adapted accordingly. Their best-developed senses are hearing and smell. They can live to around 35 years of age. Bison are a social animal that typically live in herds of 8 to 13 animals, though older males tend to be solitary. They feed mainly on green and woody plant matter, including branches, bark and leaves. They prefer younger forest stands with dense undergrowth. In winter, their staple food sources are brambles, tree bark, shrubs and dry grass, which they dig out from under the snow. The bison’s historical range extended almost throughout Europe. In Slovakia today, approximately 70 individuals of the species live wild on a reservation in the Poloniny National Park.

  • Coin description

    Obverse:
    The obverse of the euro collector coin depicts a male European bison with trees in the background above and fallen branches in the foreground below. The Slovak coat of arms appears in the lower right of the design, just below the year of issuance ‘2024’. The name of the issuing country ‘SLOVENSKO’ is inscribed along part of the left edge. In the lower part of the design are the mint mark of the Kremnica Mint (Mincovňa Kremnica), consisting of the letters ‘MK’ placed between two dies, and the stylised letters ‘KL’, referring to the coin’s designer Karol Ličko.

    Reverse:
    On the reverse, a depiction of a European bison’s head dominates the centre and right of the design. Above the head are the coin’s denomination and currency, ‘5 EURO’. The Slovak name of the European bison, ‘ZUBOR HRIVNATÝ’, is inscribed along the upper-left edge, and the scientific name, ‘BISON BONASUS’, is at the lower-left edge. The two names are separated by a beech twig with leaves and nuts.

  • Coin details
    Designer:Karol Ličko
    Composition:brass MS63
    Weight:19.1 g
    Diameter:34 mm
    Edge:milled
    Producer:Kremnica Mint (Slovakia)
    Engraver:Dalibor Schmidt
    Issuing volume:50,000 euro coins (initially and possibly more subsequently)
    Issuing date:2 July 2024