If you're bored with collecting type or date and Mint mark sets of coins and paper money, perhaps a topical collecting project might be in order.
Topical collecting involves selecting a "subject" and then building a collection around that theme, in contrast to collecting an individual series like the Lincoln cent or building a set of type coins (one of every major design type). Fewer limitations may apply to a topical collection; a collector, if he or she chooses, can include coins, paper money, tokens and medals in the same collection, something that cannot be done with a collection limited to Lincoln cents.
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PITCHER PLANT and fish are depicted on the face of the 100-rupee note of Seychelles.
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One of the more unusual topics to consider is collecting coins and paper money featuring carnivorous plants.
A plant is considered carnivorous if "it attracts, captures and kills animal life forms. It must also digest and absorb the nutrients from the prey," according to the International Carnivorous Plant Society's Web site www.carnivorousplants.org.
Researchers have identified more than 600 species and subspecies of carnivorous plants in the world, according to the ICPS. Most grow in bogs or swampy areas.
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PROMINENT VIGNETTE of a pitcher plant can be seen on the face of the $5 note of Brunei.
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When the words "carnivorous plant" are mentioned, many people immediately think Venus's-flytrap or even the fictional Audrey II in the play Little Shop of Horrors. However, as odd as it sounds, Newfoundland, one of the Maritime Provinces of Canada, has a carnivorous plant as its official plant. Government officials declared the Sarracenia purpurea as the official flower of Newfoundland in 1954.
The Sarracenia purpurea, or pitcher plant, is depicted on coins and bank notes. It is an upright growing plant with pitcher-shaped leaves that hold water.
The water serves as an enticement for passing insects to stop and take a drink. Once inside the leaf, the insect slides to its death. The plant then draws its nutrients from the decomposing victim.
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MALAYSIAN 20-ringgit notes depict a pitcher plant on the back at the left side of the note.
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The plant's leaf color is a dark purple with reddish-tinged veins. It is known to grow in the eastern United States as far south as New Orleans.
Collector Andy Lanier of Florida collects coins and paper money depicting these meat eaters of the plant world. And he hasn't stopped at just coins and paper money. He also has a collection of stamps with carnivorous plants.
His collecting topic is an offshoot of his interest in coins and paper money depicting beautiful and exotic orchids.
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CANADIAN $100 gold coin displays the provincial flower of Newfoundland: the Sarracenia purpurea or pitcher plant.
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Lanier, who keeps a checklist of coins and paper money depicting carnivorous plants (and orchids), lists the open wreath on the reverse of the 1865 to 1936 Newfoundland large cents as depicting the pitcher plant.
Newfoundland is the oldest British colony in the Western Hemisphere, dating from the 1497 discovery of John Cabot. Newfoundland did not become part of Canada until 1949. Between 1865 and two years prior to becoming part of Canada, Newfoundland issued its own decimal coinage and paper money, including the coins depicting the pitcher plant.
Canada's 1977 $100 gold coin, struck in honor of Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee, features a bouquet of provincial flowers that includes Newfoundland's pitcher plant. The Canadian 1977 $350 gold coin depicts the pitcher plant alone.
In addition to Newfoundland and Canada having issued coins depicting carnivorous plants, Brunei, France, Malaysia and Seychelles have issued notes featuring the plants.
In 1996 Brunei issued a $5 "plastic" composition note with the face depicting a portrait of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah I in military uniform at right and pitcher plant vignette at left. Each note has a star-shaped transparent window in which the holographic coat of arms of Brunei is depicted.
A large vignette of a pitcher plant and vielle babone cecile fish are depicted on the face of the 100-rupee note of Seychelles. A pitcher plant is also depicted on the back of the 20-ringgit note of Malaysia.
So, if you're looking for a more exotic subject for a topical collection, consider biting into carnivorous plants on coins and paper money.
