Republic of Chad starts a new limited bullion coin range with the release of the Mandala Lion

There are no signs whatsoever that the flood of new bullion coins is abating and another new series has entered the mix for your consideration. Wildlife in its various forms is probably the most popular theme, but even so, there’s room to put a spin on it, and that’s definitely the case with this new APMEXclusive series of one-ounce gold and silver coins.

Called Mandala Lion, the King of the Jungle is depicted as a face-on portrait built up using a series of geometric shapes and patterns. While not strictly mandala-like, you can see where the inspiration has come from. The end result is very attractive, but as the first in the series there is room for improvement on future issues. The biggest issue for us is the over use of inscriptions on the reverse face. Having the metal fineness on there twice is  not a great idea, neither is the placing of the denomination on both faces. Why? The coin composition inscription could be smaller and briefer as well.

Think we don’t like this coin? Nothing could be further from the truth. The lion image is beautifully done and the Republic of Chad’s coat-of-arms on the obverse looks excellent as always, especially with its inspiring motto “Unite, Travail, Progres”(Unity, Work). The APMEX images of an actual coin seem to indicate a very high quality of strike for a bullion coin as well. Just lose some of the reverse face inscriptions to allow room to make the artwork larger and you’d have one of the better bullion coins released this year.

Mintages are pretty small on the silver coin (15,000) and positively microscopic on the gold (100), so this does have a bit of potential to appreciate on rarity alone. APMEX are not keeping us guessing on the coins status as the first in a series. It is to be followed by similarly stylised designs of different animals and thus as the first in the series, has extra appeal. Available to order now, a great first effort and one well worth watching for in the future. At $3.49 over spot, it’s good value as well. We like.

REVERSEOBVERSE
REVERSEOBVERSE
SPECIFICATION
DENOMINATION 5,000 Francs CFA (Chad) 50,000 Francs CFA (Chad)
COMPOSITION 0.999 silver 0.9999 gold
WEIGHT 31.1 grams 31.1 grams
DIMENSIONS 39.0 mm 30.0 mm
FINISH Brilliant Unc Brilliant Unc
MODIFICATIONS None None
MINTAGE 15,000 100
BOX / COA No / No No / No