--- description: A turtle in Thailand that underwent surgery earlier this month after eating almost a thousand coins humans tossed into its pool died Tuesday title: A Turtle in Thailand Died After Eating Almost 1,000 Coins image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdb2f851ecb80dd13/6988bf3f97cdff2c0f6afe35/thailand-turtle-dies-coins.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [animals](/tag/animals/) ## animals Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # A Turtle in Thailand Died After Eating Almost 1,000 Coins  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 21, 2017 4:14 PM CUT  A sea turtle dubbed "Piggy Bank" comes up for air while swimming in a small sea water pool at the Veterinary Medical Aquatic Animal Research Center in Bangkok on March 13, 2017. A sea turtle dubbed "Piggy Bank" comes up for air while swimming in a small sea water pool at the Veterinary Medical Aquatic Animal Research Center in Bangkok on March 13, 2017.ROBERTO SCHMIDT—AFP/Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 21, 2017 4:14 PM CUT A [turtle in Thailand](http://time.com/4697979/bank-sea-turtle-recovery/ "undefined") that [underwent surgery](http://time.com/4692545/turtle-thailand-coins-surgery/ "undefined") earlier this month after eating almost a thousand coins humans tossed into its pool died Tuesday from intestinal issues, veterinarians said. The female green sea turtle, nicknamed “Omsin” or “Piggy Bank,” died of intestinal obstruction that blocked her protein intake, the [Associated Press](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/66b1f3d7c15840d78f8725c38fd154c7/thailands-coin-eating-turtle-unconscious-after-2nd-surgery "undefined") reports. Nickel toxicity also marred her immune system. The animal had consumed more than 900 coins, which were thrown into her pool by people seeking good luck. She was about 25 years old. \[[_AP_](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/66b1f3d7c15840d78f8725c38fd154c7/thailands-coin-eating-turtle-unconscious-after-2nd-surgery "undefined")\] Turtle in Thailand Dies After Eating Hundreds of Coins ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4708079/turtle-thailand-dies-coins-bank/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4708079/turtle-thailand-dies-coins-bank/"},"headline":"A Turtle in Thailand Died After Eating Almost 1,000 Coins","datePublished":"2017-03-21T16:14:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T10:49:09.107Z","description":"The turtle had undergone surgery but died of intestinal issues","url":"https://time.com/4708079/turtle-thailand-dies-coins-bank/","keywords":["animals","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdb2f851ecb80dd13/6988bf3f97cdff2c0f6afe35/thailand-turtle-dies-coins.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdb2f851ecb80dd13/6988bf3f97cdff2c0f6afe35/thailand-turtle-dies-coins.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"THAILAND-ANIMALS-TURTLE","caption":"THAILAND-ANIMALS-TURTLE","creditText":"ROBERTO SCHMIDT—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4708079/turtle-thailand-dies-coins-bank/","name":"A Turtle in Thailand Died After Eating Almost 1,000 Coins"}}]}] ```