The result of a bet between Loki, and the dwarves, Sindri and his brother Brokkr, Mjölnir was a hammer created to prove they could forge items as beautiful as those created by another group of dwarves, the Sons of Ivaldi. Loki tried to fix the bet when in the form of a biting fly by distracting the brothers, but failed. He did cause it to have a flaw, and the handle was short as a result.

The hammer was presented to Thor, described in the Prose Edda as “Then he gave the hammer to Thor, and said that Thor might smite as hard as he desired, whatsoever might be before him, and the hammer would not fail; and if he threw it at anything, it would never miss, and never fly so far as not to return to his hand; and if be desired, he might keep it in his sark, it was so small; but indeed it was a flaw in the hammer that the fore-haft was somewhat short.” Most people today will know the hammer from the multi-billion dollar Marvel film franchise, where it features prominently.

Germania Mint’s latest coin is the second in their Artefacts series, which debuted last year with Gjallarhorn, the instrument used by the guardian of the Rainbow Bridge, Heimdall. The coin, designed by Mateusz Frąckowiak, who also did the first issue, depicts that iconic short-handled hammer, giving off electrical energy, and surrounded by a border filled with runic symbols. The obverse is very similar, except for different detailing and symbology on the head of Mjölnir. It’s a great looking bullion coin, and we think the 5,000 mintage won’t hang around too long. Each coin comes encapsulated, and with a Certificate of Authenticity. The images below the video are of our own sample coin.

As with the 2024 issue, the jewel in the crown of the range is a gorgeous two-ounce, high-relief variant, plated with dark ruthenium, and highlighted with palladium and gold. Again, you can see the high-relief in our own images below the video, and how it features on both faces of the coin.

Some of that extra metal also goes to increase the diameter of the coin to 45 mm, and the whole thing is extremely impressive in hand. Even Germania Mint’s own bicephalous eagle symbol is picked out in gold, managing not to be detrimental to the obverse, and actually looking like it belongs. The coin is boxed, with a certificate, and just 500 will be produced. A terrific release, I’ll try to do some better pictures over the weekend. Available to order now.