1 Pound Cyprus Green Turtle - Silver Proof Issue

Cyprus issued this coin under its broader late-1990s wildlife conservation series, timed to align with international pressure on Mediterranean nations to protect the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nesting grounds at Lara Beach on the Akamas peninsula — one of the last significant nesting sites in the northern Mediterranean. The Cypriot government had established the Lara Turtle Conservation Project as early as 1976, making the island one of the earliest state actors in the region to enact formal marine turtle protections.

The .925 silver proof specification matches the standard adopted across Commonwealth-affiliated minting programs of the period, with striking contracted through the Royal Mint.