We’ve known for some time now that Scottsdale Mint had a contract to continue their impressive Eastern Caribbean 8 bullion coin program, but weren’t sure if they’d decided to do so. Fortunately, it looks like the seventh annual cycle is now underway, and continues with the two silver and two gold one-ounce coins that have been the series signature formats since it debuted in 2018.

There are actually two new issues, the first of which is Dominica. Six of the eight nations have already had their coat-of-arms/emblem emblazoned on one of their issues, and now Dominica joins them, having its pretty shield flanked by two Sisserou parrots, on the 2024 release. Dominica is a simply stunning place, awash with wildlife, and almost devoid of beaches, meaning it hasn’t been overwhelmed with tourism like many other places.

The bullion side of things is mostly dealt with by the one-ounce silver coin with its 25k mintage. The other three are finished to a proof quality, with one silver and one gold having selective colouration on their reverse faces. Please do check out our comprehensive Bullion Profile of the range, where you can see over 200 coins released to date, and get more information on this neat series.

The second of the new EC8 coins is the seventh issued for Saint Lucia. Another beautiful place, with plenty of natural wonder in the sea, the land, and in the sky, the latter of which provides the inspiration for the third time – flamingos. It’s another fine design, almost as nice as our favourite, the 2018 coin.

Again, it’s the same four formats as above, with identical mintages, and the same obverse.

The Unicorn series debuted last year, with a design issued for the African nation, the Republic of Ghana. It was a decent affair, available in the usual cleanly struck one-ounce silver format, but accompanied by a trio of gaudily coloured variants. To be honest, we didn’t think it would have much appeal, but to our surprise, and probably Scottsdale Mints, it sold well. As a result, here we are again.

The big change is the issuing country, with the quartet of 2024 coins issued under the banner of Fiji, although the base obverse design hasn’t changed much outside of that. The reverse face artwork is completely different, and even more twee than in 2023, something we wouldn’t have thought possible! The rainbow coloured coin, and the purple and blue coloured pair, return alongside the base bullion coin, which will probably have the broadest appeal. The kids will love the others, we suspect, so maybe a clandestine way to get them into stacking…

You can see the others in our huge guide to Scottsdale Mint’s many bullion coin series, where you’ll find this one on page two.

You’ll also find the Alien series on the same page of that guide, although in this case, there’s less surprise as to the success of it, given the popularity of science-fiction these days. This is quite the aggressively themed series, with the story of an invasion running through the previous three annual issues, and continuing with one simply titled ‘War is here’. Subtle it ain’t.

Fully ‘tooled-up’ the aliens are depicted in battle armour, and giving their enemy, presumably us, a hard time. It’s a cool design, in our view, although the weakest to date. That’s a testament to the quality of previous designs, rather than a dig at this one, however. It remains a great range.

It’s also a wide one, with six silver, and two gold versions. The base silver coin is available in half-ounce, one-ounce, and five ounce weights, and there’s an excellent antique-finished one-ounce as well. Joining them are rhodium plated, and proof coins, each with colour highlights, which are shared with a one-ounce gold proof. A tiny tenth-ounce gold rounds out the eight-format selection.