20 euro – Tertiary − Life on the Ground

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 Discoverer edition, which features a wealth of extras.