Australian Southern Sky series of domed silver coins wraps with the constellation Cygnus.

One of the earlier series of domed coins to hit the market, inspired as they were by the Monnaie de paris effort of 2009 celebrating the International Year of Astronomy, the ‘Sky’ series by the Royal Australian Mint has been extremely popular since its inception in 2013. The first trilogy was called Southern Sky and was released at the rate of one-per-year with a mintage of 10,000 each. Northern Sky upped the release rate somewhat, with a corresponding drop in mintage, with all three coming dated 2016 and being limited to 5,000 each.

This is the third of the Northern Sky coins and depicts the constellation of Cygnus, derived from the Latinised Greek word for Swan. It includes the Northern Cross and was listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy as one of his 48 constellations, athe number of which modern astronomy has risen to 88. Incorporated within its reach is one of the biggest stars yet discovered, the first reported black hole, and with the Hercules-Corona Borealis Great Wall, the largest known celestial structure.

Following on from Cassiopeia and Ursa Major, Cygnus doesn’t make waves and sticks firmly with the previous design ethos. That means that only the coloured section and the skyline has changed, and why not, its a great look. Instead of the treeline of Cassiopeia and the peaks of Ursa Major, Cygnus has some rockfaces as its base. The coordinates on the rim pattern are specific to this coin. The obverse is of course the standard effigy of Queen Elizabeth II that adorns all Australian currency.

Packaging remains neat and colourful and the price remains at $120 AUD ($109.09 for non-Australian residents who don’t have to pay sales tax. The mintage of 5,000 is as expected. German dealer EMK have the European exclusive on these and are selling it for €89.50. A fine end to a very popular and beautifully struck series of coins that is available from today. What comes next? Hopefully they’ll extend the concept but as yet we have no news.