20 Euros Peregrine Falcon

Part of Germany's ongoing "Endangered Species of Germany" gold series, this issue highlights the peregrine falcon's near-extinction in Central Europe during the 1970s, when DDT-induced eggshell thinning collapsed breeding populations to critically low numbers. A coordinated ban on organochlorine pesticides across West Germany, combined with captive breeding programs, allowed the species to recover over the following decades.

The .9999 fineness is consistent throughout the series — finer than the standard .9999 four-nines gold already is, leaving no further room for improvement, which speaks to the mint's deliberate positioning of these as bullion-collectibles rather than purely numismatic issues.