Triton Shell Trumpet (Large) 5 Vatu Vanuatu Authentic Coin Money for Jewelry and Craft Making (Horagai) (Sangu) (Pūtātara)

Triton Shell Trumpet 5 Vatu Vanuatu Authentic Coin Money for Jewelry and Craft Making (Horagai) (Sangu) (Pūtātara)

Reverse: Charonia tritonis, or Triton, a very large shell that predates upon sea stars, particularly the invading Acanthaster, locally responsible for the destruction of corals.
Here shown with a hole in it, because it is used as a trumpet.
Lettering: 5 VATU

Obverse
Coat of arms of Vanuatu: A Melanesian warrior armed with a spear, standing before a mountain; behind him a boar's tusk and two leaves of the namele (coconut palm).
Lettering: RIPABLIK BLONG VANUATU
LONG GOD YUMI STANAP
Translation: Republic of Vanuatu
In God we stand

Features
Issuer Vanuatu
Period Republic (1982-date)
Type Standard circulation coin
Years 1983-2009
Value 5 Vatu
5 VUV = 0.045 USD
Currency Vatu (1982-date)
Composition Nickel brass
Weight 4.0 g
Diameter 23.5 mm
Thickness 1.31 mm
Shape Round
Orientation Medal alignment ↑↑
Number N# 1662
References KM# 5, Schön# 18

Wikipedia:
Charonia tritonis, common name the Triton's trumpet or the giant triton, is a species of very large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Charoniidae, the tritons. Reaching up to two feet (or 60 cm) in shell length this is one of the biggest mollusks in the coral reef. This species is found throughout the Indo-Pacific Oceans, Red Sea included.

The common name "Triton's trumpet" is derived from the Greek god Triton, who was the son of Poseidon, god of the sea. The god Triton is often portrayed blowing a large seashell horn similar to this species.

The shell is well known as a decorative object, and is sometimes modified for use as a trumpet (such as the Japanese horagai, the Maldivian sangu or the Māori pūtātara).

C. tritonis is one of the few animals to feed on the crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster planci. Occasional plagues of this large and destructive starfish have killed extensive areas of coral on the Great Barrier Reef of Australia and the western Pacific reefs. The triton has been described as tearing the starfish to pieces with its file-like radula.

Much debate has occurred on whether plagues of crown-of-thorns starfish are natural or are caused by overfishing of the few organisms that can eat this starfish, including C. tritonis. In 1994, Australia proposed that C. tritonis should be put on the CITES list, thereby attempting to protect the species. Because of a lack of trade data concerning this seashell, the Berne Criteria from CITES were not met, and the proposal was consequently withdrawn. While this species may be protected in Australia and other countries (such as India), it can be legally traded and is found for sale in many shell shops around the world and on the internet.

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Wikipedia:
The Coat of arms of Vanuatu features a Melanesian warrior holding the spear standing before the mountain superimposed on the boar's tusk encircling two crossed namele fern fronds and the golden scroll on the bottom with the National Motto that reads: LONG GOD YUMI STANAP (In Bislama for, "IN GOD WE STAND"). The Bislama "long" is a preposition derived from the word "along" and has several flexible meanings, "in, on, at," and "with." When used referring to another with personhood, it is generally understood to mean "with (said person)."

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Wikipedia:
Vanuatu (English: /ˌvɑːnuˈɑːtuː/ officially the Republic of Vanuatu, is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is 1,750 kilometres (1,090 mi) east of northern Australia, 540 kilometres (340 mi) northeast of New Caledonia, east of New Guinea, southeast of the Solomon Islands, and west of Fiji.

Vanuatu was first inhabited by Melanesian people. The first Europeans to visit the islands were a Spanish expedition led by Portuguese navigator Fernandes de Queirós, who arrived on the largest island, Espíritu Santo, in 1606. Queirós claimed the archipelago for Spain, as part of the colonial Spanish East Indies, and named it La Austrialia del Espíritu Santo.

In the 1880s, France and the United Kingdom claimed parts of the archipelago, and in 1906, they agreed on a framework for jointly managing the archipelago as the New Hebrides through an Anglo-French condominium.

An independence movement arose in the 1970s, and the Republic of Vanuatu was founded in 1980. Since independence, the country has become a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, Organisation internationale de la Francophonie and the Pacific Islands Forum.