Star Wars movie poster series continues with fan favourite, The Empire Strikes Back

A new departure from the Star Wars ranges put out by the New Zealand Mint, the 40th Anniversary Star Wars movie poster coin turned out to be an absolute smash hit, selling out quickly and being sought after on the aftermarket. It comes as no surprise that the mint is continuing with the series and it’s now the turn of the second, and probably the best of the movies to get the attention – The Empire Strikes Back.

We’re pretty sure that you’ll be familiar with the plot of the movie and of the many elements within it that have entered popular culture so it’s straight on to the coin. Rectangular and issued for Niue, the coin is a simple affair. Depicting the international promotional poster by Noriyoshi Ohrai, just the bottom of the coin is clean struck with the movie logo, although the composition and copyright information are inscribed at the very bottom in a small and innocuous font.

Presentation is first class, consisting of one of the acrylic block frames that we like so much. They make display an easy task and they look great. The outer shipper is classy and understated, helping to move this away from the plethora of junk memorabiliaq and onto a level that affirms it as something that you’ll hold onto for many years.

There’s obviously one more coin to come this year and it doesn’t take an Einstein to work out the subject matter, although there are again a few choices for the poster chosen to adorn it. The one chosen will please fans we think and round out a nice set. This  coin will be available later today and has a price of $85.00 USD and a mintage of 10,000. A few of our sponsors like Powercoin and Minted-UK sell them.

2017 EMPIRE STRIKES BACK POSTER SILVER COIN

THE ORIGINAL POSTER

The Empire Strikes Back has seen a wide variety of posters produced to promote it around the world, not just the one used by the New Zealand Mint for its coin. While Tom Jung reinterpreted a design done by the Hildebrandt brothers for the first movie, he produced an original one for The Empire Strikes Back (right) and it’s an excellent piece, clearly in the style of the most famous Star Wars poster.

Another iconic poster was produced by the artist responsible for the brilliant Jaws movie poster, Roger Kastel and it’s a beautiful one. Picture left, it’s a mass of ephemeral colour and would’ve been my first choice for the coin, but no doubt everyone will have their own favourite. Some of the modern stylised posters are equally amazing and well worth seeking out.

SPECIFICATION

NAME 2017 EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
DENOMINATION $2 New Zealand
COMPOSITION 0.999 silver
WEIGHT 31.1 grams
DIMENSIONS 53.00 x 36.00 mm
FINISH Proof
MODIFICATIONS Selective colouring
MINTAGE 10,000
BOX / COA Yes (Acrylic Frame) / Yes