The second coin continues this very unusual series called ‘Strangers Among Us’, which takes iconic works of art, and gives them an extra-terrestrial spin. This series only debuted last year, with an alien Vincent van Gogh self-portrait, done in the master’s iconic style. The second coin continues it with another icon, Girl with a Pearl Earring, the 1665 masterpiece by the Dutch painter, Johannes Vermeer.

The depiction of the figure on the coin is heavily based on the original, except our subject now has grey skin and big alien eyes. However, the dark background has been replaced by a flying saucer themed stained-glass window, with light beaming through it. The deep space star field in her headscarf is a particularly nice touch, and you suspect the earring is more than a simple decoration.

The obverse is the same one introduced for the 2024 Van Gogh coin, which includes full coverage art of a flying saucer hovering over a pastoral scene in the foreground, with a big city in the background. The coin comes in a neat black box hinged vertically, and with a certificate of authenticity. This one-ounce silver coin has a mintage of 1,000 units.

Bringing up the rear is the third issue in the Memento Mori series, which loosely translates in Latin to ‘Remember to die’. This range features skeletons seemingly continuing to carry on with their lives, completely missing the fact they’re dead. It’s a terrific idea, and TWC have done a top job bringing it to reality, with their 2024 Biker, and 2025 Miner coins.

The third issue is easily my favourite to date, and depicts a skeletal gangster, cigar in one hand, whiskey in the other, and with a pistol on the table. Everything down to the suit, with its red rose, looks great, and the use of colour highlighting is restrained, and well-placed. The cat is the star of the show, and carries the same expression I do when I wake up in the morning. Love it!. The only change I might have made is to have the cigar in his mouth, with the smoke coming out of his eye socket, but then I do have a twisted sense of humour.

Again, this series has a common obverse, with that classic memento Mori symbol, the skull-adorned moth called a Death’s-Head Hawkmoth. We’re fine with the whole concept of a common obverse as long as an effort is made to theme it to the series. It’s another, relatively affordable one-ounce coin, and has a reduced 32 mm diameter to enable the use of a high-relief strike. Gangster comes in the same style of box as the alien coin, and with a COA. A brilliant release, with the coolest cat in coins…