The Fourth fish silver bullion coin from Tokelau debuts bearing the predatory Barracuda

The next in Tokelau’s fish series of silver bullion coins is out now and is the fourth in what is meant to be a twelve-coin series. Launching in 2014 with the Kakahi Yellowfin Tuna, following years saw the Mokoha Great White Shark and the Hakula Sailfish as subjects. For 2017 it’s the Kapoa Barracuda.

The barracuda is a ray-finned saltwater fish found in tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide ranging from the Eastern border of the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea and Caribbean Sea. They are found near the top of the water and near coral reefs and sea grasses. Snake-like in appearance, with prominent, sharp-edged, fang-like teeth, Barracuda grow up to 1.65 m in length. Barracudas are ferocious, opportunistic predators, relying on surprise and short bursts of speed, up to 27 mph (43 km/h) to overtake their prey. Barracuda feed on an array of prey including fish which they kill by simply biting them in half.

The coin is a natural evolution of the previous trio, a picture of the fish with a smattering of background elements. Inscriptions are limited to TOKELAU at the bottom and KAPOA – BARRACUDA at the top. In all it’s a clean and well proportioned design from a series that’s definitely improved in our view. The obverse is a standard Tokelau design, carrying both the Queens effigy (Ian Rank Broadley version) and the Tokalau Tuluma symbol. The Tuluma is a wooden tackle box used by native fisherman. The inscription “Tokelau mot e Atua” meaning “Tokelau for God,” sits just underneath it.

Sold as a bullion coin with quite low premiums, the 250,000 mintage comes in tubes of 20 coins or monster boxes of 500. Most dealers are happy to sell smaller quantities for the collector or smaller scale stacker. Struck by the Highland Mint, the coins are now up for sale at dealers all over Europe and the US.