The Mandalorian coloured silver coin series from the New Zealand Mint seems to have been a good seller, no surprise given the huge popularity of the TV series. The star of the show to date is without question ‘The Child’, also known as Grogu, or Baby Yoda (which it isn’t), so it’s a surprise that we’re four coins into this series before it puts in an appearance.

It’s a classic depiction, so we have little doubt that fans of the series will snap this up in record time. The $95.00 USD coin weighs in at an ounce of 0.999 silver and is struck to a proof finish. We’ve seen a few of the coins in this range and they’re very well struck, making a great looking and long lasting gift for the Star Wars fan. The mintage is capped at 2,000 pieces and the presentation is first class. Available now. Check out the whole NZ Mint Star Wars range in our Thematic Guide.

LINKS: NZ MINT WEBSTORE

Chibi is back like clockwork with the first pair of May issues now available to pre-order, The first is of little surprise, Gandalf the Grey the latest in the Lord of the Rings sub-set. This is the third of Tolkiens characters to get the monster-bonce treatment, and you can see the franchise gradually taking priority over Harry Potter, which is rapidly running out of subjects and itself handing over to Fantastic Beasts.

Of greater surprise is the debut of another new sub-set, the fifth this year, but the first to make the jump into the gigantic world of videogames. It’s easy to forget just how large this market is, easily dwarfing the movie world. Halo is the franchise of choice, a Microsoft X-Box behemoth widely touted as one of the major reasons why the company is such a power player in gaming today. The main character in the games is Master Chief, but we’re guessing if you’re interested in the coin, you already know that. It looks good, so we’ll monitor the popularity of it closely.

There are now 33 of these coins in total, so we’re pleased to see greater differentiation between the sets. Nothing annoys a collector more than incomplete collections, so at least this approach breaks it down into manageable chunks. There’s plenty of scope for expansion as well. Nightmare Before Christmas, James Bond, The Matrix, Aliens/Predator, Nintendo, Marvel Comics, Doctor Who, The Simpsons – it’s almost endless, although limited by licencing, of course. I reckon an Asterix the Gaul set would be brilliant, and South Park, and The Boys, and Universal Monsters, and Mad Max,  and………..

Check out our comprehensive Coin Series Profile to the Chibi range, recently completely revised with a new look.  Check it out at the link below.

LINKS: AgAuNEWS PROFILE OF THE CHIBI SERIES