ENDANGERED SPECIES - JAVAN RHINOCEROSID92920060
A.P.E. JAVA RHINOCEROS COIN
For the year 2022, being aware of the importance of conserving the integrity and diversity of nature by ensuring the equitable and sustainable use of natural resources, the FNMT-RCM is issuing a collection of 16 coins dedicated to a selection of endangered animals catalogued as Critically Endangered (CR) and included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
The complete collection consists of sixteen coins, issued in the year 2022, and an album-case in which to store them in an orderly fashion.
On the obverse, in a central circular area, an image of the Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) is reproduced in colour. At the bottom, in a circular shape and in capital letters, the legend RINOCERONTE DE JAVA. At the bottom, in circular form and in capitals, the legend ESPAÑA (SPAIN) and the year of issue 2022.
On the reverse (common to all the coins), within a central circle, the legend ANIMALS IN DANGER OF EXTINCTION appears at the top, in a circular shape and in capitals; below it, the value of the coin 1.5 EURO, in two lines and in capitals; and, below it, the mint mark.
| Series | Endangered Species |
| Year | 2022 |
| Colour | Yes |
| Diameter (mm) | 33 |
| Face Value (Euro) | 1.5 |
| Metal | Cupronickel |
| Weight (g) | 15 |
| Maximum Mintage (units) | 5,000 |
JAVA RHINOCERON (Rhinoceros sondaicus)
It is one of five species of rhinoceros. Slightly smaller than its continental cousin, the Indian rhinoceros, this rhinoceros from the Asian island of Java has less developed dermal plates, and of all the rhinoceroses, it is the one with the least developed horn, which sometimes does not appear in females, or if it does appear, it is in the form of a small protuberance.
Strictly herbivorous, Javan rhinos weigh between 1 and 2 tons, and their length is usually around 3 metres, with a height of 1.5 metres. Like all other rhino species, they have poor eyesight, which they make up for with good hearing and an excellent sense of smell. There are hardly any differences in appearance between males and females. In the absence of captive specimens, little is known about their social, reproductive and behavioural aspects.
Originally there were also populations of these rhinos throughout Southeast Asia, in India and southern China, but they have long been extinct, and the estimated 60 rhinos in the wild live in the Ujung Kulon National Park, a tropical forest area near the Krakatoa volcano, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Their risk of extinction is therefore extremely high.
The absurd belief about the aphrodisiac and medicinal powers of its small horn stimulated its poaching in the past, which together with the disappearance of its habitat by humans, caused a drastic reduction in the number of individuals for decades, making it currently one of the rarest large animals on Earth, a fact that also entails a very poor genetic diversity, and the possibility that any disease could definitively kill this "little giant".