Pobjoy Mint has produced a third coin in the new series of Sea Creatures 50-penny coins issued on behalf of the British Indian Ocean Territory.

The third coin in the collection features the emperor angelfish, the best known of all saltwater angelfish. Their distinctive colors are truly regal, with yellow and royal blue horizontal lines streaming across their frame.

The emperor angelfish is a species of reef-associated marine angelfish, native to the Indian and Pacific oceans. They are unusually beautiful both as juveniles and as adults. Adults are deep bodied and slightly elongated and can be as long as 40 centimeters in the wild.

The juveniles are black with light blue and white curved stripes, and with a honeycomb pattern on the top and bottom fin and tail made up of black spots edged in blue. Because of this distinction, until 1933 juvenile emperor angelfish were thought to be a separate species.

This angelfish is generally associated with stable populations and faces no major threats of extinction.

The British Indian Ocean Territory comprises the 50 islands of the Chagos Archipelago, which is only a total area of 44 square kilometers, but the territorial seas cover more than 10% of Indian Ocean reef cover and have the cleanest seawater ever recorded.

Coin details

The Emperor Angelfish coin is available in a Diamond Finish copper-nickel version, which features the fish in full color.

A special color album designed to house all six coins planned for the collection is sold separately.

The design is also available on a colored Proof .925 fine silver coin.

The obverse of both coins feature the Pobjoy Mint’s exclusive effigy of Queen Elizabeth II.

Both coins weigh 8 grams and measure 27.3 millimeters in diameter.

The copper-nickel coin has a mintage limit of 2,750 pieces and retails for $19.95.

The silver coin is limited to 150 pieces and retails for $69.95.

To order, or for more information, visit the Pobjoy Mint website, www.pobjoy.com.

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