Why does the Canadian 1 cent coin have Liquidambar orientalis foliage on it? Tradition would surely dictate that it should be Acer leaves, but the leaf arrangement is clearly alternate, not opposite as in Acer. Or did the artist just goof it? (free use pic from wiki commons)
I think I heard somewhere that it is a huge artistic goof up and that it is the leaf of Platanus acerifolia, which has the alternate leaf arrangement unlike the Acer which is opposite.
Found at http://www.ou.edu/cas/botany-micro/ben/ben267.html: THE ROYAL CANADIAN MINT IS RECALLING ALL PENNIES FROM 1938 ON In order to avoid class action initiated by BEN, The Royal Canadian Mint is recalling all pennies issued since the year 1938. For over sixty-three years The Royal Canadian Mint and the Federal Government of Canada misled all Canadians and visitors of Canada by pretending (and falsely advertising in coin catalogues) that the plant on the reverse of Canadian pennies is maple. BEN has recruited several experts to testify that the image is definitely NOT maple, since the branch has alternate and not opposite leaves. One expert witness concluded that the picture is actually that of Platanus acerifolia (Ait.) Willd., although we cannot exclude some other plants, such as stink currant (Ribes bracteosum Hook.). The Royal Canadian Mint is planning to strike a disclaimer: "THIS IS NOT A MAPLE" onto each coin. In order to simplify the process, this inscription will be printed [?] on both sides of each penny. The International Court in The Hague follows this process with great interest because a similar court action is expected in the case of a German 10-Phennig coin which displays a branch of oak, this time with opposite leaves. The inscription "Keine Eiche" was suggested to avoid this court case. I haven't heard of it, or seen a new penny to replace it. How did you notice this Michael F? Did someone point it out, or do you just like looking at coins from "the colonies"? ;)
Hi Globalist, Spotted it when looking at this post in the Fungus Ident forum: http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=25745 where the mystery fungus is accompanied by a 1 cent coin for scale. I was intrigued to see the shoot on the coin wasn't a maple shoot, so thought I'd start a thread to see what others thought (since I couldn't believe no-one else had ever noticed!). The coin in that photo is dated 2007, and doesn't have any disclaimer "THIS IS NOT A MAPLE", so the Botanical Electronic News can't have followed through on their threat of legal action (while their observations about the foliage are good, their write-up reads more like an April Fool's Day joke . . . yep, it is dated 1 April 2001). Found a pic of the old German 10 Pfennig (no longer in use) with opposite oak leaves: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/10-PF-Coin-German.jpg The new German Euro cent coins changed the design, with correctly alternate leaves: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3a/5ec_ger.png
lol... I didn't notice the date on the article. I posted it more because is shared Jimmyq's ID as Platanus acerifolia. I had never noticed... I just found my new party trick. Now I just need to get invited to a party.
I've looked as best I can online.. nothing much. And I've been showing lots of people, but no one seems to care! I guess it isn't a very good party trick. I thought it was interesting, perhaps I'll send a email to the mint. I bet they have some preprepared reply to this question.
