Treasure Island, a tale of adventure, pirates, and a parrot, inspires T&S Coin’s new silver coin release

One of the most famous adventure stories of all time, Treasure Island was written by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson in the early 1880s, and has been a staple of pop-culture ever since. As well as direct adaptations, it’s also been the source of inspiration for other media, and the coin world is no exception.

The skeletal pirates on the reverse of T & S Coin’s latest issue are the first clue that this is an ‘inspired by’ design. Another terrific coin, it follows in the same vein as their earlier ‘Dead Men Tell No Tales’ release from 2023. There’s a lot going on here, the main focus being the seated pirate captain, which is covered in neat touches, like the skeletal knee showing through a hole in his clothing. He sits in a cave, the view outwards to the sea, with a chest of gold coins, suitably gilded, held up in the foreground by a pair of equally skeletal crew members.

The cave, and the background, are given an enhanced, layered sense of depth by the expert use of high relief, and the gilded elements are equally well-chosen. T & S have a common obverse across their designs, tweaked with a coin title and issuing symbol, and it’s possible that will remain the case this year. Treasure Island is the producer’s first 2024 coin, and the obverse is much changed in detail. It remains a gorgeous sense of style, regardless.

This is a two-ounce silver coin, rimless, and with a mintage of 500 pieces. It comes boxed with a Certificate of Authenticity. We like this one, again. There’s some deeper meaning suggested on the mint’s website, but for us, it’s a fun and original take on the popular pirate genre. Available to order now, it should begin shipping late in April.

GALLERY

DENOMINATION COMPOSITION DIAMETER FINISH MINTAGE
2,000 Francs CFA (Cameroon) 62.2 g of 0.999 silver 45.0 mm Antique 500