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Australia Skua in Flight

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2008 Proof Five Dollar

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The Australian Antarctic coin collection was released in celebration of the International Polar Year of 2007-2008. The collection consists of three coins, the other two being Polar Explorers and Aurora Australis. This coin was struck in sterling silver weighing 36.31 grams. The reverse of this coin, designed by Wojciech Pietranik, has a map of the Australian Antarctic Territory and details the places of Mawson, Davel and Casey. It also has a Skua in flight in great detail. The coin has the legend AUSTRALIAN ANTARCTIC TERRITORY INTERNATIONAL POLAR YEAR 2007-2008. The obverse features the traditional Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, crowned and right facing and is surrounded by the legend ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 2008 5 DOLLARS. This coin, along with the other two, were sold in individual boxes with Mint Issue Australian Government Royal Australian Mint March 2008 and were individually numbered.

The Antarctic Skua is an excellent flier and very acrobatic. They have a reputation for being very aggressive and often feed by scaring other birds in leaving their food or even regurgitating what they have already eaten. They will even attack another bird that is up to three times heavier than themselves. At other times they also eat fish, offal, and carrion. In the Southern oceans and Antarctica, some skua will readily scavenge the carcasses of penguins and pinnipeds, sometimes taking live penguin chicks.