One of the greatest vocalists of all time, Freddie Mercury was the lead singe of a band with almost unparalleled popularity, Queen. They had an astounding range, covering everything from gentle ballads, to rock songs that could drown out a massive stadium. The public loved them all, and Freddie Mercury’s voice with its astonishing four-octave range, was a massive draw. They also knew how to employ visual spectacle in their performances, and again, Mercury was a master of the ridiculous and exuberant, through costumes and physical energy. A genuine musical force, Queen, and Mercury, remain hugely popular today.

We’ve seen Queen and Freddie Mercury coins before, mainly as part of The Royal Mints long-running ‘Music Legends’ series, and with the whole licensing market being so convoluted and expensive, we didn’t expect the Czech Mint to be adding to the selection, but in conjunction with Prague’s Music Club Doupe, here we are.

The design, by a Czech Mint regular, and one of our favourite coin artists, Asamat Baltaev is centred around an excellent portrait of Freddie, partly circled by three iconic poses of him performing. Other than his inscribed name, the design is otherwise clean, and it certainly doesn’t need any additions, in my view. The obverse has also had thought put into it, with his most iconic jacket, and the crown he wore while performing sometimes, surrounding the Public Seal of Niue. There’s no colour or gimmickry here, and nor is it required.

There are four variants of the coin, the most populous of which is the one-ounce silver proof, followed by a five-ounce brilliant uncirculated version. Gold is represented by a pair of proof finish coins, one of them a troy ounce, the other half that. All variants are nicely boxed, with a Certificate of Authenticity, and available now. A really fine homage to a true giant of the modern era which we’ll add to our big thematic guide to modern music coins later today.