A few weeks back I shared a coin that I had received as a gift from my friend who is from Trinidad and Tobago. Since then I have kept my eyes open for some other coins from the islands to add to my collection. I finally got lucky in a coin shop in Phoenix, Arizona about a year later where I found another one produced in the same era by the Franklin Mint. The bird you see in the first coin image is called a scarlet ibis, I'll tell you more about it down below the coin images. It's a beautiful bird!
The coin has some great artistry which is very typical for coins produced at the Franklin mint. The only real problem with the coin is that over the years it has tarnished because it was kept in a high humidity environment, most like in Trinidad and Tobago. Whenever you buy silver coins or bullion you want to store them in dry environment to prevent them from tarnishing and losing their bright appearance. Once a coin has tarnished some people decide to polish it up to make it look new, this is a mistake. Once a coin is polished or cleaned it becomes known as a "cleaned coin" which drastically lowers it's value. Coin collector's generally avoid coins that have been cleaned and coin grading services will often refuse to even grade a cleaned coin. So it's best to just leave than tarnish right where it is!
Even though this coin has tarnished it's still a beautiful example of some fine art created by master engravers. They have put great detail into the bird on the back of coin as well as the coat of arms on the front of the coin. This is truly a great work of art!
About the coin:
Country: Trinidad and Tobago
Denomination: 5 Dollars
Mint : The Franklin Mint, Pennsylvania, US
Year: 1972
Mintage: 19,000
Composition: 92.5% silver
Diameter: 40 mm
Weight: 29.7 grams
Thickness: 3 mm
Edge: Reeded
Demonetized: yes
Obverse: National Arms with the script "TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
TOGETHER WE ASPIRE TOGETHER WE ACHIEVE"
Reverse: Scarlet ibis and denomination
carolinabirds.org
The scarlet ibis is a bird that can be found throughout tropical South America coastlines and the southern islands of the Caribbean. It is also one of the two national birds of Trinidad and Tobago where they have set aside 490 acres of wetland as a preserve for the bird. It uses it's long bill to probe in the mud to find food, mainly scarabs and ground beetles although it also eats small fish, small snakes and frogs, and fruit. They nest in trees with nests in close proximity and flocks usually have more than thirty birds though they can contain thousands at times.
It's a beautiful bird with bright red coloring which is probably why it was chosen as the national bird. They are a protected species in almost all countries they habitat although they aren't under any threat of extinction. I think it's a very cool bird and it's too bad they don't thrive outside of the tropics. It would fun to see some colorful birds here along the California coastline!
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and read my post. I hope you found it engaging. If you have any suggestions, comments, or questions please feel free to leave them below. Thanks for all your support!
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarlet_ibis
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces32749.html
Re-blog lottery for a chance to win 3 HSBI!
Now for the winner of the re-blog lottery! Today we had 17 people re-blog my post, thank you so much! You guy are the best! The people who re-blogged were:
Voluntary daily reminder list for those who request to be on it:
If you want to be added to the list as well just feel free to ask!
Thank you everyone! I have been working to improve my engagement and all of you have really helped out! If you have any recommendations or suggestions please feel free to let me know. I'm always looking to improve my posts.
Good luck to everyone!
And the Wheel of Names results:
Congratulations 
You will receive 3 HSBI!
Now for today's re-blog lottery! You just need to re-blog my post you will be placed on the Wheel of Names for a spin to possibly win 3 HSBI units! Just one prize for the lucky winner. An upvote is not required but is always greatly appreciated. Bots aren't allowed to win the prize. Contest ends at 14:00 (2 PM) California Pacific time tomorrow. If I somehow missed your re-blog please let me know and I'll add you to the next draw.
What are HSBI units? They are units that you can purchase to sponsor someone and you in turn receive a unit as well. This way we both benefit! They give you occasional upvotes on your posts for a lifetime, and the more you accumulate the more often you receive upvotes and the bigger they can be. You can read some more here:
If you have more questions feel free to ask.