MDM start their Underwater World series with the apex predator, the Great White Shark

There’s certainly no shortage of shark coins on the market and MDM are adding to them by starting their Underwater World series with the apex predator, Carcharodon carcharias, better known as the Great White Shark. A bit different from the norm, this is certainly no cheap and cheerful bullion coin, being planted firmly at the higher end.

Starting with the obverse for a change, this is one of those rare coins issued for Barbados, an independant Commonwealth island in the Eastern Caribbean. Despite its British heritage, there’s no effigy of Liz present here, replaced with the coat-of-arms of Barbados instead. This is one of the finest obverse faces of a coin like this we’ve seen to date. The mass of marine life scattered around the ring surrounding the emblem looks terrific and we’re sure that it will look superb in reality, especially with its antique finish.

The reverse face looks good, the outer ring carrying over from the obverse and holding all the inscriptions, just the date and coin title in this case. In the centre is a Great White Shark bursting from the water in true Jaws style, standing proud of the rest of the coin face because of the ultra high-relief strike. The water, complete with schooling sharks, is finished in a rich blue translucent enamel and ripples outward from the shark head. It all looks great in these early images, except perhaps the inner mouth of the shark looking a little off (too much relief perhaps?). There have been a few attempts at a breaching shark before, but this is probably about the best of them from memory.

Packaging looks to be of a decent quality, if a little unadventurous. It’s a three-ounce fine silver coin of 50 mm diameter, so towards the edge of what’s comfortable in a floating frame. Perhaps the traditional box was a more sensible choice. Mintage is capped at 999 units and it looks like it will be selling for around the €300 mark. It should ship from late October to early November. A nice piece, we look forward to seeing where the series goes from here. Available to pre-order now from a couple of our sponsors.