3 Euro Colored Coin Austria 2023 – Luminous Sea Life “Swell Shark”

The California swell shark is a little-studied rare species of the big-headed shark genus. It lives in the subtropical waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean. The California swell shark is not dangerous to humans. When confronted underwater, she will remain motionless, but if disturbed, she will double in size when puffed up with water.

The California swell shark converts incoming ultraviolet or blue light into green light. A special pigment in the eyes of sharks allows them to see the neon green color of their relatives. Human eyes don’t have this pigment, so we need an ultraviolet flashlight to see the sea shark’s green glow. The molecules that cause sharks to fluoresce are unique to the animal kingdom. Light areas of their skin glow more intensely than dark areas. Why the shark does this is not yet fully understood, but it is hypothesized that this process helps them recognize each other and distinguish between males and females of the species.

All 12 magical sea creatures from the Luminous Marine Life series are depicted as silhouettes on the obverse of the coin. Air bubbles between them, and the tail fin disappears under the waves to the right. A wide band, reminiscent of an antique porthole, frames the water scene on the reverse of the coin. It seems that a shark is swimming through the porthole, its brown body glows green when illuminated with ultraviolet light. As on all coins of the series, a shell and a starfish are visible on the left and bottom.

Series: Bright Sea Life
Denomination: 3 euro
Weight: 16g
Diameter: 34mm
Material: CuNi
Quality: UNC
Circulation: 65.000

All 3 euro coins in this series are legal tender in Austria.