The New Zealand Mint, have pulled out all the stops with possibly the biggest license of them all, Star Wars. Having released entertainment tie-ins for years, like Doctor Who, Disney and Thunderbirds the mint has made this type of coin its speciality with the only real competition being the Perth and Royal Canadian Mints.
Star Wars debuted in cinemas back in 1977, but with a new movie just a few weeks away, interest hasn’t been this high for years. With George Lucas now out of the picture, it’s hoped that a fresh set of ideas will reinvigorate the series after the disappointing second trilogy. Disney have detailed a hugely ambitious schedule of new movies over the next few years that will see interest in Star Wars skyrocket.
The first NZ Mint coin to be released was also the first in what we think will be the big hit of the range, Classic Star Wars. Featuring uber-baddie Darth Vader, the clean-struck coin was available in one and quarter ounce gold variants, and as a one-ounce silver. That has again turned out to be the case for the second release, Han Solo. The Vader coin also became available as a Deathstar-sized one-kilo coin and we’d imagine at some point in the future, this one will be too. With mintages set at 10,000 for the silver and the gold at 1,000 for the ¼oz and 500 for the 1oz, we’d imagine this superb design will be a huge hit. Kudos to the mint for an exceptional job, the image working superbly in the metal format.
Packaging mirrors the first release and prices are in US$, $85.00, $620.00, and $2,500 respectively. Available to order later today, you should see these for sale in quite a few places (there’s an advertiser deal on our homepage). The coins will ship from 07 December.
On a side-note, we’ve boosted the contrast on the image below-left to get a better look at the coin as the original was a little flat because of the flashgun used. The watermark is recognition of the fact it isn’t completely original, but the other image below-right is official.
MINTS DESCRIPTION
Smuggler. Scoundrel. Hero. Han SoloTM, Captain of the Millennium Falcon, was one of the great leaders of the Rebel Alliance. He and his co-pilot Chewbacca came to believe in the cause of galactic freedom, joining Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa in the fight against the Empire.
This coin face captures the face of Han Solo frozen in carbonite, as in the 1980 Release of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. This highly collectible coin has a Limited Mintage of only 10,000 coins (silver), 1,000 coins (¼ oz gold) and 500 coins (1oz gold).
REVERSE: This coin features the face of Han Solo frozen in carbonite, as in the 1980 release of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.
OBVERSE: This features the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
PACKAGING: The Star Wars Classic: Han Solo coin comes presented in a high-quality Star Wars themed coin packaging. The packaging makes this an ideal gift for any Star Wars fan. The Certificate of Authenticity sits within the coin case.
HAN SOLO
As Darth Vader is considered one of the greatest movie villains of all time, Han Solo is considered one of its greatest heroes. AÂ Corellian smuggler inadvertantly caught up in the fight between the rebels and the Galactic Empire, his story of redemption is one of the threads running through the original trilogy that made those movies so loved by fans.
Solo is one of the characters back for the new Star Wars: Force Awakens movie, and one that will help anchor the movie to the existing universe. Unlike the new Star Trek films, Star Wars is continuing the original story instead of being a reboot.
THE COIN SCENE
Captured by the Empire, Solo was frozen in carbonite by Dart Vader to see if a human could survive the process, one which he wanted to use on Luke Skywalker. Solo did indeed live through th efreezing process and went into suspended animation. Given to Boba Fett, the iconic bounty hunter, Fett sold him to Jabba the Hutt, a crime kingpin who had long had a bounty out on Han for dumping a contraband cargo when confronted by the Empire.
Solo was eventually freed by Princess Leia who was herself disguised as a bounty hunter. Long considered one of the most iconic scenes in the Star Wars movies, it goes some way to explaining why The Empire Strikes Back is widely considered to be the finest of the movies.
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