It’s been a long time coming, but finally one of the world’s greatest TV/movie franchises has entered the modern numismatic world. The Perth Mint have snapped up the licence to Star Trek and the first two coins have their world début today. A licence doesn’t get any richer than this, so we’d expect to see a plethora of new releases over the next couple of years mining the depth of characters, places, objects and history that make up the Star Trek Universe.

This initial release is of two coins that are available individually, or as a two-coin set. Starting at the very top with two of the most iconic subjects in Trek history, Captain James Tiberius Kirk, and the USS Enterprise, both coins stick to the Perth Mint’s tried and tested formula of one-ounce coloured silver rounds. Well designed, though not pushing any coin design boundaries, we’d expect there to be a comprehensive run of these coins coming through, of which we’ll hopefully find out some more on tonight at the official launch in Berlin.

The coins won’t be available until the 16th February when we’re sure they’ll be flying off the shelves, especially the two coin set that could prove as popular and well-liked as the New Zealand Mint’s own Doctor Who Tardis coin from 2013.

WHERE TOO NEXT?

We don’t as yet know in what direction the coin releases will go until hopefully the press launch tonight, but to say it’s a signpost with a lot of arrows on it is quite the understatement. Here’s a few pointers in what could be coming.

THE ORIGINAL SERIES

Running from 1966-1969, this is the Trek most fondly remembered by fans and in our view, the best series in Trek history.

Potential coin subjects are almost limitless, and likely subjects could be Spock (a dead cert we reckon), Dr. McCoy, Uhura, Scotty, Sulu and Chekov. We’d be surprised if the Klingons and Romulans didn’t put in an appearance, either in character or starship form.

THE ANIMATED SERIES

Ran from 1973-1974, this series came about due to the failure to get a new series of the live action Trek commissioned. Using many of the original cast as voice actors, it went on to be quite fondly remembered, even winning Star Treks first ever Emmy in 1975.

Potential coin subjects are quite few here as the series never reached the popularity of the original, and much of it is considered non-canon.

THE NEXT GENERATION

For many, but not me, Star Trek: The Next Generation is the definitive Trek and certainly the most successful of the TV series. Running from 1987-1994, and set a century after original Trek, 178 episodes were made.

We;d expect numerous coins to be released for this series. Captain Picard, Worf and the others have all entered popular culture, the Enterprise design is iconic, and the universe rich in variety.

DEEP SPACE NINE

The first Trek series to go with a continuing narrative rather than be a succession of individual stories, after a weak start, DS9 developed into a grittier and darker series than those that had gone before. It’s had much critical acclaim for its seven year run (1993-1999).

Lesser known than either the Original or Next Generation incarnations, we’d nevertheless expect the series to be recognised with at least a release or two.

STAR TREK VOYAGER

Generally thought of as being one of the weaker Trek series, Voyager ran from 1995-2001 and was set on a starship lost in another quadrant of space. It ran for a full seven seasons, but isn’t looked at with the same respect as other series.

There will possibly be a nod to the series somewhere through the coin run, but we wouldn’t expect too much outside of maybe a captain and/or ship coin.

STAR TREK ENTERPRISE

Taking the bold step of heading into prequel territory, Enterprise was set in the days between man’s first warp-flight and the formation of the Federation. Ironically the series started off with good ratings that declined rapidly, but in quality started off poorly and improved towards the end of its 2001-2005 run.

Again, there will possibly be a nod to the series somewhere through the coin run, but we wouldn’t expect too much outside of maybe a captain and/or ship coin.

THE ORIGINAL MOVIES

Containing some of the very best of Trek on screen and some superb sci-fi in it’s own right, Trek movies have been pretty well received in many cases, especially the sublime Wrath of Khan and the excellent Undiscovered Country. Of the ten films, the first 6 were filmed with the original cast, the last three with the Next Generation actors, and the 7th having elements of both.

We can’t see there not being some numismatic commemoration of the movies. In what form it takes we don’t know at present, but it must surely be coming.

THE REBOOT MOVIES

Highly regarded director J.J.Abrams was given the job of rebooting the movies for a modern audience and the first film came out in 2009 to massive critical and fan acclaim. Followed up in 2013 with ‘Into Darkness’, there is to be a third movie in July 2016 coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Star Trek. Better be good then mate….

There simply has to be some coin recognition for the new movies, and we’d definitely expect a release to coincide with the movie and anniversary in 2016.

EVERYTHING ELSE

Books, comics, merchandise and games are extremely numerous, but I can’t imagine anything making a coin face. There’s a huge background of material that could make interesting numismatics, from planets, aliens and especially starships, that it would be difficult to know where to start.

We predict a series of Enterprise incarnations, and different captains to adorn some coins, and the movies to be acknowledged, but in what form is a mystery at present. Perhaps a Gods of Olympus style ‘Villains of Trek’ series might be popular…..

MINTS DESCRIPTION

Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek debuted in 1966, and ran for three seasons until 1969. Set in the future, the science fiction series followed the 23rd century adventures of Captain James Tiberius Kirk and the Constitution-class starship U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 , a powerful interstellar spacecraft dispatched by the Earth-based Starfleet Command to explore the galaxy.

Since its debut, Star Trek has developed into a cultural phenomenon with a range of spinoff television series and a number of feature films being released over the past five decades. The  series explored a variety of societal themes and issues including a Utopian society, war and peace, imperialism, economics, racial equality, religion, human rights, feminism, and the role of technology.

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.

The Perth Mint will release no more than 5,000 of the 2015 Star Trek – Captain James T. Kirk 1oz Silver Proof Coin; 5,000 of the 2015 Star Trek – U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 1oz Silver Proof Coin and 1,500 of the Two-Coin Sets.

KIRK REVERSE:  portrays a colour image of actor William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk as he appeared in Star Trek, against a representation of the U.S.S.Enterprise and the inscription CAPTAIN JAMES T. KIRK. The design also includes The Perth Mint’s traditional ‘P’ mintmark, and the coin’s weight and fineness.

ENTERPRISE REVERSE:  is representative of the United Federation of Planets logo and portrays a colour image of the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 flying through space as it appeared in the original Star Trek television series. The design includes the inscription STAR TREK THE ORIGINAL SERIES U.S.S. ENTERPRISE NCC-1701, 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 Kirk 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 Enterprise coin sits on top of the case in its own compartment which also lights up. Each coin and set is accompanied by a numbered Certificate of Authenticity

SPECIFICATION PER COIN
DENOMINATION $1 TUVALU
COMPOSITION 0.999 SILVER
WEIGHT 31.135 g
SIZE 40.60 mm
FINISH PROOF
MINTAGE 6,500 (5,000 SINGLES, 1,500 IN SETS)
ARTIST JENNIFER McKENNA / IAN RANK BROADLEY
BOX / COA YES / YES (SERIALISED)