Today we will be going back to Belize, a beautiful Central American country! When I was there on a diving trip quite a few years back I picked up most of the coins from a set of silver proofs produced in 1974. That was kind of the bonus of the trip! The diving was spectacular with really clear water and visibility. The reefs and wildlife are beautiful, and it wasn't very expensive there either. If you ever get the chance to go dive there I highly recommend it!
The coin today is the fork-tailed flycatcher:
About the coin:
Country: Belize
Mint: The Franklin Mint, Pennsylvania, USA
Year: 1974
Mintage: 31,000
Strike type: Silver Proof
Series: Avifauna of Belize
Denomination: Five Cents
Composition: silver 92.5%
Weight: 4.35 grams
Diameter: 20 mm
Edge: Reeded
Obverse: Belize coat of arms with lettering BELIZE SUB UMBRA FLOREO 1974 FM ( I flourish in the shade! is the translation from Numista)
Reverse: Two fork-tailed flycatchers
The coin isn't scratched up, but the protective capsule on this is relatively scratched and is sealed so tightly that I haven't successfully managed to open it for replacement. I guess it's been in there for close to 50 years now, maybe that's why it's so stubborn! I'm still looking for two more coins I'm missing from the series, hopefully I can find a good deal somewhere soon and post on those that I'm still missing. It's a great series to collect with beautiful proofs produced by the Franklin Mint and really aren't too expensive to purchase. They are a gorgeous silver proof set!
The reverse side of the coin has two fork-tailed flycatchers sitting on branches. In real life they are beautiful birds, have a look:
ebird.org
kesterclarke.net
Learning about the birds is always my favorite part of creating these posts. For the most part I have never really researched the birds until I started this series.
The forked-tail flycatcher is found throughout most of South America and most of Central America. Looking at the pictures you can see why it's called forked-tail with those long tail feathers on either side. Those feathers allow these birds to turn on a dime at very high speeds. They can reach speeds up to 65 miles per hour (105 km per hour) and quickly turn due to their long tail feathers.
As far as size goes they are relatively small with males being around 16 inches (41 cm) and females 12 inches (30 cm) long. They use their fast speed to catch and eat insects which is the main staple of their diet. However in winter when insects are scarce they will also eat berries. They are known to be very aggressive when it comes to chasing off predators especially during nesting season. If you've ever gotten to close to the nest of an aggressive bird species you've probably experienced this behavior before. Birds dive bombing at your head can be a little intimidating!
Overall very interesting birds, and I can see why they were chosen to grace the five cent silver proof coin!
I hope you enjoyed my post on the forked-tail flycatchers and my silver coin. Thanks for taking the time to stop by. Please feel free to leave any suggestions, comments, or questions below. Thanks for all your support everyone!
And my disclaimer:
Gold and silver stacking can be a fun hobby but isn't for everyone. You can lose money. I'm not a financial advisor and this isn't financial advice, please always do your own research before spending your hard earned money.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fork-tailed_flycatcher
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces34523.html
Re-blog lottery
Now for the winner of the re-blog lottery! Today we had 32 people re-blog my post, thank you so much! You guy are the best! The people who re-blogged were:
@bitandi
@blitzzzz
@bntcamelo
@bulliontools
@edeyglezsosa
@ericburgoyne
@esbat
@flaxz.alive
@florakese
@geneeverett
@henruc
@hjrrodriguez
@irfanmustafa
@jenam
@jhonnygo
@jorgebgt
@kungfukid
@kunschj
@ladymisa
@maurojd
@miriammarga
@monsterbuster
@necho41
@nupulse
@olaf.gui
@rosauradels
@stekene
@trautenberk
@vaynard86
@vrezion
@vrezyy
@yova
Voluntary daily reminder list for those who request to be on it: @ganjafarmer
If you want to be added to the list as well just feel free to ask!
Thank you everyone! I have been working to improve my engagement and all of you have really helped out! If you have any recommendations or suggestions please feel free to let me know. I'm always looking to improve my posts.
Good luck to everyone!
And since I didn't post yesterday today I will do two spins of the wheel, so two winners today!
And the Wheel of Names results:
Congratulations @hjrrodriguez and @edeyglezsosa !
You will each receive three HSBI units!
Now for today's re-blog lottery! You just need to re-blog my post you will be placed on the Wheel of Names for a spin to possibly win 3 HSBI units! Just one prize for the lucky winner. An upvote is not required but is always greatly appreciated. Bots aren't allowed to win the prize. Contest ends at 14:00 (2 PM) California Pacific time tomorrow. If I somehow missed your re-blog please let me know and I'll add you to the next draw.
What are HSBI units? They are units that you can purchase to sponsor someone and you in turn receive a unit as well. This way we both benefit! They give you occasional upvotes on your posts for a lifetime, and the more you accumulate the more often you receive upvotes and the bigger they can be. You can read some more here:
https://hive.blog/hive-189312/@steembasicincome/hive-sbi
If you have more questions feel free to ask.
