100 Yuan

My father-in-law gave our sons a gold coin when they were just born and too young to show any interest in money. I have kept them for them since.
This 100 yuan, 1 ounce (31.1g), 99.9% quality fine gold coin from china has a gold value of 1800 USD / 1533 EUR / 1645 GBP. In 1994 the value was between 300 and 400 EUR.
Coins are so definitely man-made, does any (other) animal have money?