Talisman Luminara is one of those rare beasts these days, a coin pre-holed so that it can be worn as a necklace. You’ll have to supply your own chain/cord of course, but it’s the silver talisman that’s the focal point here. A gorgeous solar design, harking back to the ancient world’s way of depicting the Sun, dominates the reverse face, beautifully textured and antiqued. Bold and timeless, something important if it’s to be worn.

The obverse carries a crescent moon, equally well textured, and arcing around a circle of radiating lines, centred in which is the Cook Islands emblem and issue details. The coin has a suitably smooth edge. A terrific idea, and one we’d like to see explored further. We can’t guarantee it will look as elegant on you as it does on Mariana here, but it’s certainly a pretty, unusual piece of wearable art.

Most people have at least one phobia (mine is getting the first round in down the pub), and some of them are more common than others. CIT have already tapped into two of them with sharks and spiders, and now we have one of the odder phobias – Coulrophobia. For some inexplicable reason, many people are terrified of clowns. We don’t have an inbuilt fear of them, and outside of John Wayne Gacy and his Pogo the Clown alter-ego, I have no idea what would make it so (a bad Big Mac, perhaps…). It was first described about 35 years ago, and since spawned a whole host of movie and television characters, like Pennywise.

The coin is awesome, and that’s about as creepy a clown as you’re ever going to depict on a coin. The high-relief character is submerged under a layer of dark red enamel, and the coloured balloons sit on top of that. His knuckles on the hand holding them protrude slightly, giving it a creepy sense of depth. That Hitchcock-esque common obverse returns. Easily the best of the three issues to date for me.

This one is all new, and a striking example of the trend for mixing nature, with digital futurism. The design here is all about the mix of high-relief and colour. We saw this in Berlin, and the colour is striking and applied perfectly. The polygonal nature of the orchid makes the light shimmer over it as it moves in hand. I believe it’s based on a Phalaenopsis, more commonly known as the Moth Orchid.

The central flower itself is more naturally represented, and again, the colour is exquisitely applied. The way the petal extends over the rim in one area is a nice touch, as is the lack of inscriptions, which would definitely have negatively impacted the intended finish. Only the basic obverse, with just the King Charles III effigy and issue inscriptions, disappoints, but we’re very pleased to see this as a more affordable one-ounce coin. Beautiful release.

Also a one-ounce coin that is the third in its series, Pride continues CIT’s trip through the seven deadly sins that started with Wrath, and gluttony. The concept here is simple enough, depicting the various sins using animals that, for right or wrong, may have an association with them in the popular consciousness.

For pride, we have the lion, which seems appropriate enough given it’s the name for a group of them. The depiction of the male is just perfect, standing proud enough, and likely surveying his territory. While the association between the beast and the sin is tenuous, the image does convey the emotion very well. The colour on this is in a similar vein to that used on their brilliant Revolutionaries series, imparting a sense of depth and realism without gimmickry. First class.

Another coin that eschews gimmickry for bold contrast is this stylised homage to Katsushita Hokusai’s legendary 19th century woodcut image, The Great Wave off Kanagawa. This isn’t a slavish copy of the original artwork, which I was fortunate to see an original print of at the British Museum special exhibition a few years ago, but rather a small part of it redone in a high-contrast, black and white style. Let’s say more inspired by, than copied.

It’s a bold looking coin, enhanced by a process CIT are calling Nanoshine, and could almost be used to make woodcut prints from itself. The obverse is a basic one, however it also enjoys a deep Obsidian Black finish. A nice, original take on a classic piece of fine art.

This is one of the odder pieces in the Winter Launch, and focuses on the dichotomy between logic and emotion. The former is represented by half a brain (a politician, obviously…), and coloured by an almost metallic blue, no doubt a nod to the phrase ‘cold hard logic’. The latter, this time highlighted in an equally intense red, is half a heart.

Both the organs are struck in high-relief, at the bottom of a deeply concave face, and are very well detailed, especially the heart. It’s a clever take, although one of my least favourite designs from this launch. A testament to the whole launch that this still remains an appealing issue overall.

Another all-new, one-ounce silver coin is this clean, stylish piece drawing inspiration from the early 20th century Art Deco movement. Called Line Art, it outlines a subject in raised silver lines, and colours in certain areas to suit the subject, in this case the pink of the flamingo, and the blue background.

Those raised lines, and the similarly raised border, form a boundary to hold a clear enamel, into which are scattered fine gold flakes, making each of these coins completely unique, as you can see in the image of the two examples above. It’s simple, bold, and quite different. The coin is also a more affordable one-ounce issue, so making it ideal as a gift, perhaps.