One of the premiere series of art-architectural themed coins, Crystal Arts from the Mint of Poland is now on its fourth release after the series debut in 2012 with ‘Secrets of Liechtenstein’, ironically looking at the country in which is based Coin Invest Trust (CIT), arguably the most influential coin producer in this style of coin with their hugely respected Tiffany Art series. This was followed in 2013 with ‘Mysteries of Wawel’, a coin looking at a beautiful castle in Poland, and then in 2014 with the widely liked ‘Secrets of Pena’, a Romanticist Portuguese castle.

In a break from the norm, the subject of the slightly late 2015 coin is the fantasy castle from the smash-hit book and movie series, Harry Potter. Called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in the books it was located somewhere in Scotland and was the key setting for the first six of the seven books in the epic series. It’s certainly an unusual step, but quite a logical one when you consider the sheer number of people who would recognise an image of this imaginary location, and compare the numbers to those who would recognise the subject of any of the first three coins in comparison. A dramatic and interesting piece of architectural design anyway, the transition to this premium coin series has been handled with ease, and you’d be hard pushed to see anything in the design that isn’t possible or in keeping with the real world.

Like all the coins in this series, a window of crystal (agate?), in this case a quite garish pink, is integrated into the design, with the reverse picturing the castle exterior, and the obverse the castle interior. In our view not quite as strong a design as last years Secrets of Pena, it’s nevertheless a fine entrant into what has been a fine quality series. The Mint of Poland also strike the Imperial Art coins (Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt), and the superb Mineral Arts (Forbidden City, Taj Mahal) as well, the Taj Mahal coin in particular being a quite stunning design. Clearly a mint that’s playing at the top of its game over the last few years.

Shipping in mid-March, the coin is only up at a couple of dealers at the moment in the low €200-250 range, but many other dealers will have it shortly. The coin comes boxed and with a coloured shipper. We’ll get some better clean images soon and replace those here, but we wanted to post with what we have rather than wait on this occasion.

HARRY POTTER & HOGWARTS

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The series chronicles the life of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story arc concerns Harry’s struggle against the Dark wizard Lord Voldemort, who aims to become immortal, overthrow the Ministry of Magic, subjugate non-magic people and destroy anyone who stands in his way.

Since the release of the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, on 30 June 1997, the books have gained immense popularity, critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide. They attracted a wide adult audience, and have remained one of the preeminent cornerstones of young adult literature. The series has also had some share of criticism, including concern about the increasingly dark tone as the series progressed, as well as the often gruesome and graphic violence depicted in the series. As of July 2013, the books have sold more than 450 million copies worldwide, making the series the best-selling book series in history, and have been translated into 73 languages. The last four books consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history, with the final instalment selling roughly 11 million copies in the United States within the first 24 hours of its release.

The seven books were adapted into an eight-part film series by Warner Bros. Pictures, which is the second highest-grossing film series of all time as of August 2015. The series also originated much tie-in merchandise, making the Harry Potter brand worth in excess of $15 billion. a trilogy of spin-off films premiering in 2016 will ensure the brand continues to excel.  (Main source: Wikipedia)

Below are the two sides of the previous coin in the series, Secrets of Pena.