Star Wars Day – Classic proof coin range starts 2018 with the blobby gangster, Jabba the Hutt
In our view the best range of popular culture coins on the market today, Classic Star Wars has eschewed all attempts at gimmickry to provide a selection of traditional proof coins of exceptional design. Launched back in 2016 soon after the New Zealand Mint acquired the Star Wars licence, Darth Vader was the first of the movie characters to be showcased in gold and silver and was hugely successful. Continuing to work its way through the major players in the original movie trilogy, we’re now seeing the eleventh coin in the range being released.
We’re starting to see more of the peripheral characters come into play and that means some of the more interesting ones as well. The last issue featured the enigmatic bounty hunter Boba Fett, and this one goes with the gross criminal mastermind, Jabba the Hutt. Quite unlike any other character, it’s a fine choice for the Classic Star Wars range to cover.
As has been the case in the past, (if we ignore the 1kg Darth Vader issue), three formats are on offer. The mainstay one-ounce silver coin continues to be the main attraction and there are one-ounce and quarter-ounce gold coins on offer also. In a great touch which we’ve lauded before, the smaller gold coin carries different artwork to its larger siblings. While in a couple of earlier issues the design was simply a crop of the larger work, for Jabba the artwork is completely new and far more suitable at the smaller size. We’re sure this will make collecting a silver/gold pair more satisfying for collectors. The obverse remains the simple effigy of Queen Elizabeth II used for all this mints Niue Island issues.
Packaging is also gimmick-free and of a high quality and all variants of the coin come with a certificate of authenticity. Mintages stay at 500 for the large gold, 1,000 for the small gold and a far larger 10,000 for the silver. Prices stay at $2500, $620 and $85 USD respectively .Available to order today from the mint store or from selected dealers including several of our sponsors.
2018 STAR WARS CLASSIC JABBA THE HUTT
JABBA THE HUTT
Jabba Desilijic Tiure, commonly known as Jabba the Hutt, is one of the most unique antagonists in the Star Wars movie universe. He is depicted as a large, slug-like alien. In the original theatrical releases of the original Star Wars trilogy, Jabba the Hutt first appeared in Return of the Jedi (1983), though he is mentioned in Star Wars (1977) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
Jabba is introduced as the de facto leader of the Desilijic-Hutt Cartel, and the most powerful crime boss on Tatooine, who has a bounty on Han Solo’s head. Jabba employs a retinue of career criminals, bounty hunters, smugglers, assassins and bodyguards to operate his criminal empire. He keeps a host of entertainers at his disposal at his palace: slaves, droids and alien creatures. Jabba has a grim sense of humor, an insatiable appetite, and affinities for gambling, slave girls, and torture.
When Jabba the Hutt is killed in Return of the Jedi, his surviving former courtiers join forces with his rivals on Tatooine and his family on the Hutt homeworld Nal Hutta make claims to his palace, fortune, and criminal empire.
SPECIFICATION
| DENOMINATION | $2 New Zealand | $250 New Zealand | $25 New Zealand |
| COMPOSITION | 0.999 silver | 0.9999 gold | 0.9999 gold |
| WEIGHT | 31.1 grams | 31.1 grams | 7.78 grams |
| DIAMETER | 40.00 mm | 32.00 mm | 22.00 mm |
| FINISH | Proof | Proof | Proof |
| MODIFICATIONS | None | None | None |
| MINTAGE | 10,000 | 500 | 1,000 |
| BOX / COA | Yes / Yes | Yes / Yes | Yes / Yes |
So looking closely at the 13 Classic Star Wars Proof coins issued so far (as of 9/8/2018) from the New Zealand Mint, the different variants of gold and silver share the same artwork. Darth Vader = 13,477 coins (includes 1,977 Kilo coins), Yoda with it’s cropped image of the 1 oz coin on the 1/4 oz gold variant still equals 11,500 coins. (10,000 silver 1 oz, 500 gold 1 oz and 1000 1/4 oz gold including the cropped image from the same artwork on the other Yoda coins).
So that leaves, R2D2, Princess Leia, Obi Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, Boba Fett, C-3PO, Darth Maul and Emperor Palpatine each with 11,500 coins that share the same artwork regardless of metal or size variants (10,000 silver 1 oz, 1,000 gold 1/4 oz and 500 gold 1 oz = 11,500 coins for each artwork/design).
The Jabba The Hutt coin then, would be the only issued coin so far in the classic series to use completely different artwork for the 1/4 oz gold variant then the 1 oz silver at 10,000 coins and gold 1oz = 500 coins or 10,500 coins with Jabba (holding his Bong) and 1,000 coins showing Jabba’s ‘both hands with no bong’.
Am I correct to suggest that the Jabba the Hutt, 1/4 oz gold coin with it’s own unique artwork at only 1,000 coins is the rarest of the classic series issued to date ?
As well as the combination of the 1 oz silver and 1 oz gold variants equaling 10,500 coins that share the same artwork versus the 11,500 for the other issues.