The magic of the prehistoric art in the Chauvet Cave and a description of the cave itself is hard to get ones mind around and certainly beyound the scope of this small web page. The cave was the star of the movie done by Werner Herzog, who brought this great monument to life in 3D spender with his release "Cave of Forgotten dreams".

The cave itself extends about 400 meters end to end. It has serveral galleries of art scenes which exploit the shape of the walls, and the cave features to attenuate the affects of the art. Movement, emotion, landscape and realism and surrealism are all exploited in techniques of the cave. The hight of the hunt of cats, and the chase of bison and horse are represented with all the tension of life on a savana. The animals roar to life, gather at a watering hole near a real spring, and seemlingly demostrate some fertility symbols.

Aside from the painting, it would seem the cave was not so much used for human occupation rather than either religious events or simply as an artisitic excersize for the spiritaul exprerience of the creation of art. The cave itselve was occuped by the Cave Bear, an extict form of bear far larger that todays grizzily bear, and cave lions, also now extinct. A skull of a bear is placed on an raised platform in a central and highly asthetic position. The cave itself opened to the banks of the Ardèche river allowing considerable light in. About 27,000 years ago, an avalanche sealed the cave almost perfectly leaving a time capsule 32,000 years old, including bones, and foot human foot prints in the soft cave bottom.

1. wikpedia
2. The Bradshaw Site
3. Experience Ardeche
4. Official Government Site

The Chauvet Cave Coin is a One Half Ounce 925/1000 solver proof coin, 35mm diameter coin with amintage of only 1000 peices minted in Britian. Its face value is one dollar, and colored with the painting of the cats on a textured background. It coin could have been much better if the background followed the contures of the cave itself, giving the rendering a more realistic feel closer to the original

2011 One Dollar Niue Cave of Chauvet Prehistoric Painting Obverse

2011 One Dollar Niue Cave of Chauvet Prehistoric Painting Reverse

This is the Formated Archive of images of this coin.

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The Safir Family Internet Coin Library. Nearly all the coins here have been stolen. If you have any information on the theft, please contact us at mrbrklyn@panix.com Click to see these examples show below including photography: note to lawyer: most of the good stuff is gone Section I: US Coints Large Cent Coppers Flying Eagle Cents Lincoln Cents and Wheat Backs Buffalo Nickels Jefferson Nickels Jefferson Silver War Nickels Bust Half Dimes Mercury (Liberrty Head) Dimes Roosevelt Dime Barber Quarter Dollars Standing Libery Quarter Washington and Washington State Quarters Cap Bust Half Dollars 1813 o.108 AU58 Cap Bust Half Providence Powell. 1818 MS63 Cap Bust Half 1833 MS63 Cap Bust Half Seated Half Dollars Barber Half Dollars Walking Liberty Half Dollars Franklin Half Dollars Kennedy Half Dollars Morgan Silver Dollars Peace Silver Dollars Eisenhower Clad and Silver Dollars Sacawagea Golden Dollars Modern Silver and Clad Proof Sets Modern American Silver Eagle uncirculated mint coins and proofs Modern Silver and Clad 2008 Commorative Bald Eagle Series Gold Coins - Not too many Circulated US Silver Coins prior to 1964 Go To Section II: Modern and Ancient Foreign Coins from Outside The United States Go To Section III: Mandy's 25th Anniversary World Wildlife Fund Silver Coins Unsorted Extra stuff: Bust US Coinage From the coin Show at Melville Long Island Article on Numismatics and Lobbying

The Safir Family Internet Coin Library: Foriegn Coins. Several mints from around the world make exciting coin designs in circulating alloys, silver and gold. Among my favorites are the Perth Mint in Austrailia which produces a variety of coins for nations mostly through out the Pacific Rim. The Neatherlands has also produced some interesting designs, and several private US based mints have produced foreign currency on contract, include the Franklin Mint which has produced many Israeli Coins. Our interest in foreign coins has been nominal but rapidly growing as it seems that US designs are so stuck in the mud. Also, foreign mints are creating bold new designs with color and bimetal designs that are both eye catching and fun. Dutch Scheepjesschelling Biblical Coins overview Australian Silver Koala Australian Kookaburra Silver Australian Perth Mint Reef II Sea Life Silver Hawkbill Turtle Australian Perth Mint Reef II Sea Life Series Octopus Australian Perth Mint Reef II Sea Life Series Starfish Australian Perth Mint Reef II Sea Life Series Surgeon Fish Australian Perth Mint Reef II Sea Life Series Manta Ray Australian Perth Mint Silver Cockatoo Parrot Australian Perth Mint Dollar Silver Dugong Britain Churchill Crown 1965 British Wren Type Farthings Britain Virgin Island $25 Golden Osprey Cayman Islands Cuban Amazon Parrot: 25 Anniversity World Wifelife Fund Chinese Silver Panda Easter Islands Fiji Island Turtle Bullion minted in New Zealand German 10 Euro Archeopteryx Coin Indo-Sassanian Gadhaya Paisa Saurastrat - Silver Coin Israeli Coins Japanese Aomori Coin Judean Roman Wars Judean Herodian Coinage Kashmir Kurdistan Macabean Coins Netherlands Architecture Commemerative Euro Netherlands 400 years since the discovery of Manhattan Commem Netherlands Predecimal Steivers New Zealand 1963 One Florin New Zealand 1996 Kaka Parrot $5 Silver Dollar Niue Island Artist Series: Van Gogh Niue Island Cave of Chauvet Portugal Coa Valley Archeological Site Coin Polish Food for All Commemerative - First Food Slovakia Chatam Sofer Commem Tuvalu Deadly and Dangerous Silver Blue Ringed Octopus Tuvalu Deadly and Dangerous Silver Funnel-Web Spider Uraguay 1969 FAO Pattern Coins Western Satraps 1st Century - 2nd Centry India -R-Drachm Israeli Akko, Birds, Red Sea and Elijah Coins. Perth Minti Kookabura and Koalas, and Van Gogh Coin from Niue Island More Birds and some half dimes half dimes More International Birds

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