Russia 50-RUBLES (Y331)¶

Composition

Aluminum-bronze in Copper-nickel ring

Country

Russia

Approx. Size

25mm

Area

Europe

Animal Class

Reptiles

Species

Turkmenistan Eyelid Gecko

KM#

331

After the fall of the USSR in 1991, the Russian Federation carried on with the ruble it had been using since 1961. (This being the "sixth ruble" -- the ruble itself goes back over 500 years.) In 1992, three 10 ruble coins were issued in the "Red Data Book" series, then in 1993-94 another ten coins were issued in the series, all 50 ruble pieces. (I am not counting precious metal and proof-only issues.) By this time, hyper-inflation was well under way, and by 1998 one-thousand of these rubles would be worth only one new ruble.

What lizard is this? Krause calls it a Turkmenic gecko. Google that, and you'll pretty much just find references to the coin itself, which is a sure sign it is not the correct name (or at least, not a popular name). The Central Bank of the Russian Federation says the coin shows a Turkmen eublefar, which leads us to the proper latin name of Eublepharis turcmenicus, otherwise known as the Turkmenistan Eyelid Gecko. I'll admit my research was thrown off by the fat tail on this fellow. I was trying to follow the "fat-tailed gecko" path at first! Speaking of the fat tail, like many other lizards, this fellow can shed its tail in an emergency.

Russia¶

Area

Europe

With over 17 million square kilometers of territory, the Russian Federation is the largest country on earth by a wide margin. (Canada, the second largest country, has just under 10 million square kilometers.) And with over 142 million people (2010 est.), it is in the top ten countries for population.

Russia's history starts between the 3rd to 8th centuries with the Vikings and charts a colourful course to the Russian Empire of the 18th century -- the third largest empire in history. Russia was the main member of the USSR (Soviet Union) until its collapse in 1991. Lots of problems, including numerous armed conflicts, plagued Russia in the final years of the 20th century, but the start of the 21st century saw a return to stability and renewed progress. Russia has an extremely strong history of excellence in arts and the sciences, as well as technology.

Is Russia in Europe or Asia? Well, both. Sort of. Most of its landmass is east of the Ural mountains, which would be considered Northern Asia. But most of its population, and capital city Moscow, are in Europe. And culturally, Russia is European rather than Asian. Therefore, it is listed under Europe.

Russia on Wikipedia