The first titanium coin issued in the name of Ascension Island is now available from the Pobjoy Mint.

Produced in “dusky pink” titanium, the crown coin is also available as an Uncirculated copper-nickel edition. 

Endemic to only two small rock pools on Ascension Island, the coin’s featured image, the Ascension shrimp (Procaris ascensionis), is a species of shrimp that is currently threatened, according to Pobjoy.

Inside Coin World: About those 1805 silver dollars Although an 1806 Mint document claims 321 silver dollar were made in 1805, no such coins are known today. It took a later book to explain the reference.

The two coastal rock pools in which this species can be found are set well inland, past the high tide mark, but it is possible that the pools have underground connections with the ocean. 

The coin’s reverse shows several Ascension shrimp swimming in a rock pool.

Titanium reacts differently with every strike, so each titanium shrimp coin is technically different and varies slightly in color. A lined effect present on the coins is also unique to this metal. 

The obverse features the exclusive Pobjoy effigy of Queen Elizabeth II in detail.

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The copper-nickel coin weighs 28.28 grams, measures 38.6 millimeters in diameter and has a mintage limit of 10,000 pieces. It is shipped in a Pobjoy Mint blue presentation pouch and retails for $16.95. 

The titanium coin weighs 10 grams and measures 36.1 millimeters in diameter. It has a mintage limit of 7,500 pieces. It is encapsulated in an acrylic capsule for protection and housed in a red box with a certificate of authenticity, and retails for $59 each.

The coin is available for purchase from the Pobjoy Mint website.