I'm not sure whether to applaud the eighties-tastic video below or to apologise for it, but if I was ever to spend $200 on a coin, this would be it. The latest in a series of coins from the Cook Islands, the Nano Life coin has 542 million years of Earth's evolutionary history packed onto a 'nanochip' (which is more like a micro-film than anything else) on its 5 cm (2 inch) front face!
Everything from single-celled protozoans to the present day can be viewed under a microscope, but there are also some hidden gems that can be seen with the naked eye: if you look closely you can see a tiny Tiktaalik roseae (my favourite fossil animal!) making the transition from water to land. The face value of the coin is only about $10, but only a thousand have been, or will ever be, printed.
Top header image: Coin Invest Trust
Human Impact
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