Just as the Tatras are a symbol of Slovakia, so the chamois is a symbol of the Tatras. The Tatra mountain ranges are among the world’s smallest alpine ranges and are evidently suitable places for a creature as remarkable as the chamois to live in safety. It is not by chance that the Tatra national parks of both Slovakia and Poland feature the chamois in their logos. The Tatras’ deep valleys, rocky ridges, sharp peaks and mountain lakes have been the cradle and grave of chamois for millennia. The Tatra chamois is one of a few living links to the last ice age, its population being what experts call a ‘glacial relict’. The chamois live in herds with a social way of life. Some herds comprise more than 50 individuals. The total population of chamois on the Slovak and Polish sides of the Tatras currently numbers around 1,400. The Tatra chamois, or Rupicapra rupicapra tatrica, was classified as a separate subspecies in 1971 (by Milič Blahout). In Slovakia, pure Tatra chamois are found only in the High Tatras, Western Tatras and Belianske Tatras. The chamois are a cultural treasure, a symbol of both the Tatras and Slovakia as a whole. It is of the utmost importance to keep their Tatra habitats as undisturbed as possible and to behave responsibly and respectfully when present there.

Obverse:

The obverse of this euro collector coin shows a Tatra chamois standing on a rock on which several edelweiss flowers, protected under Slovak law, are growing. The name of the issuing country ‘SLOVENSKO’ appears in the lower right of the design, above the Slovak coat of arms and, to the right of it, the year of issuance ‘2022’. The denomination and currency ‘5 euro’ are inscribed in the upper part. Next to the left edge are the mint mark of the Kremnica Mint (Mincovňa Kremnica), consisting of the letters ‘MK’ placed between two dies, and the stylised letters ‘KL’, referring to the coin’s designer Karol Ličko.

Reverse:

The reverse features the head and upper body of a Tatra chamois, with the head bisecting the background depiction of a rocky mountain range. The Slovak and scientific names of the chamois are each inscribed on three lines, with ‘KAMZÍK VRCHOVSKÝ TATRANSKÝ’ appearing to the left of the chamois and ‘RUPICAPRA RUPICAPRA TATRICA’ to the right.

Coin details