Adelheid Fuss, the artist behind the white stork coin, has already designed several coins for the German Mint. She won in the "Native Birds" series with a centred depiction of the white stork in delicate plumage. A stork's nest is suggested beneath its feet. The lettering "Weissstorch" completes the design. Fuss also designed the "Eagle Owl" coin, which appeared in the same series in 2018.
The 20 euro gold coin ""White Stork"" will be issued on 22 June 2020. The coin is part of the six-part gold coin series ""Native Birds"" and will be minted in all five German mints. The series, which has already showcased the nightingale, oriole, eagle owl and peregrine falcon in fine gold, is dedicated to the white stork this year and will conclude in 2021 with the black woodpecker.
White storks can be found in the European countryside and are therefore also native to Germany. Their species was endangered for a long time, but has now increasingly recovered. White storks can live to be over thirty years old. With a wingspan of around two metres, they cover enormous distances of up to 10,000 kilometres to reach their wintering grounds in Africa. White storks now often spend the winter in southern Spain, where landfill sites provide sufficient food. Storks need 500 to 700 grams of food a day, which corresponds to around 16 mice or 500 to 700 earthworms. A stork family needs as much as 4600 grams at times, so a food-rich environment near the nest is very important. A stork's nest can reach a considerable size: round in shape, it can be up to four metres high and two metres wide. This is due to the fact that nests are inhabited and expanded over several years.
Unlike penguins, for example, stork couples are not faithful to each other for life - but they are usually faithful to their nests. It is therefore not uncommon for them to breed with the same partner for years.
