The Perth Mint’s Captain : Vessel range of Star Trek coins reaches the penultimate stage with a pair celebrating the last of the Next Generation inspired series, Star Trek Voyager. The range launched to great fanfare with the iconic Captain Kirk and USS Enterprise from the original 1960’s series and then jumped to the 1980’s with the most popular version of Star Trek, The Next Generation. Deep Space 9 followed on shortly after, and now we come to a series perhaps not as well regaded as those that went before, but still having a huge fanbase.

Running for seven years from 1995 to 2001, Voyager always enjoyed solid ratings but was never critically loved like the series that had preceded it. Heading back to the episodic nature of the first two Trek series, it tells the story of an advanced Federation starship that is accidently propelled to the other side of the galaxy, and must then return home on a journey that could take many decades. Like DS9, the series started off quite shakey with some poor acting, stories and characterisation, and while it did improve and have some fine standalone episodes, it never reached the levels that DS9 or ST:NG attained over their runs on air. It was the last of the shows set in the Next Generation period before Star Trek: Enterprise went back to pre-Federation days.

As is normal for the series, there are two coins  available individually, or as a special two-coin set. From Voyager, the subjects are Captain Katherine Janeway, played by Kate Mulgrew, and the Intrepid-class starship she commanded, USS Voyager. Following on from these will be a final pair based on the prequel series Enterprise. Packaging is great, if bulky, with the individual coins sitting in a neat led-lit custom display unit. The two-coin set was the one that everybody initially rushed out for, but later issues have cooled considerably and are now relatively easy to pick up. Presented in a reproduction matter transporter, it’s also led-lit. It’s a shame that this will be the same for all the five two-coin sets as having five of them to display seems a little repetitive and space-consuming.

Available to buy from the Perth Mint website today, it’s much easier to get a two-coin set than with the first release, although they do sell out eventually. With just one set left to release, we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for next years releases given that it’ll be the 50th anniversay of the franchise. We’ve yet to see if there will be any coins for the new movie, but we highly suspect there will be a good selection.

ADVERTISEMENTS

MINTS DESCRIPTION

Star Trek: Voyager takes place in the 2370s, in the Milky Way Galaxy, and follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel U.S.S. Voyager NCC-74656, commanded by Captain Kathryn Janeway. Janeway is a tough captain, not afraid to take chances, and is highly intelligent, thoughtful, dedicated, and diplomatic.

Struck by The Perth Mint from 1oz of 99.9% pure silver, both coins are issued as legal tender under the authority of the Government of Tuvalu.

JANEWAY REVERSE: The Captain Kathryn Janeway coin’s reverse portrays a colour image of Kate Mulgrew as Captain Janeway as she appeared in Star Trek: Voyager, against a representation of the U.S.S. Voyager NCC-74656 and the inscription CAPTAIN KATHRYN JANEWAY. The design also includes The Perth Mint’s traditional ‘P’ mintmark, and the coin’s weight and fineness.

VOYAGER REVERSE: The U.S.S. Voyager NCC-74656 coin’s reverse portrays a colour image of the U.S.S Voyager NCC-74656 flying away from a Borg cube in space, as it appeared in the television series Star Trek: Voyager. The design includes the inscription STAR TREK: VOYAGER U.S.S. VOYAGER NCC-74656, The Perth Mint’s traditional ‘P’ mintmark, and the coin’s weight and fineness.

COMMON OBVERSE: depicts the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the monetary denomination, and the 2015 year-date.

PACKAGING: When these coins are purchased individually, the coins are presented in a Star Trek inspired case. The Two-Coin Set is packaged in a case designed to look like a Star Trek Transporter. The Captain Kathryn Janeway coin sits inside and when the ‘door’ of the Transporter is opened, a light comes on so that the Captain appears to be teleporting. The U.S.S. Voyager NCC-74656 coin sits on top of the case in its own compartment which also lights up.

SPECIFICATION