The second of the New Zealand Mint’s shaped ‘Faces of the Empire’ series is already here, following the release of the debut coin, Darth Vader, just last month. As before, it’s a helmet coin design, although whether this is the style for the whole series, or just for a few of them, we don’t yet know. The style sits somewhere between the higher end helmet series and the popular Chibi coins, so we can’t accuse the mint of not having all the bases covered.

As to the need to have all the bases covered, we’re not so sure. The Star Wars Universe is pretty expansive and there’s a lot not yet covered, so we’d rather they directed their attention to that. Perhaps a shaped series showcasing the highly regarded animated series, or even the ships, which are comparitively under-represented at the affordable end. Even some silver foil blueprints might make a neat change, and in 5g form are pretty affordable.

Anyway, there’s nothing not to like here for the Star Wars fan. It’s neatly designed, and at an ounce in weight, cheaper than the earlier series at $99 USD. Packaging is as great as ever, and the 10,000 mintage means initial availability won’t be problematic. Available today. We’ll add this one to our very comprehensive round-up of the mints Star Wars releases.

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