Over the last few years, German producer, AllCollect, have garnered a fine reputation for its range of distinctive high-relief wildlife coins. Employing the talents of artist Beni Debacker, and Belgian medal maker, P. De Greef, there has been a constant stream of sublime designs, primarily in AllCollect’s various ‘Big Five’ ranges, but also, starting in 2020, in a series called simply, ‘Predators’.

From that title, you can guess the subject, and over the ensuing half-decade, we got five very striking designs with a very distinctive aesthetic. Each of them weighs three ounces of fine silver, has double-sided high-relief, exceptionally so on the reverse face, and an antique finish. The fifth, and final coin to launch, is the Lynx.

There are four species, the biggest of which is the Eurasian Lynx, which we believe is the one depicted here, which can attain a mass over double that of the other three, including the common Bobcat. On the reverse, the Lynx is depicted on the prowl in a winter forest. Here, the level of relief is superb, and packed with texture and character. The obverse features a hunting scene, something common to the series, also with plenty of high-relief. All together, it isn’t our favourite of the series, but remains a fine quality coin in its own right.

As we’ve not covered any of the Predators series before, I thought it would be a good time to do so. Last year saw another big cat, a Lion, in our view, the weakest of the range, but not by much. For 2022, Predators went under the sea for the only time, with a very dynamic depiction of the Great White Shark. Both faces really are top-notch, but that obverse is quite sublime.

In 2021, the wolf was the subject, with a good design, but the 2020 Grizzly Bear issue is, perhaps, the star of the series. You can see the destructive power of this apex predator fully on show here, and the obverse hunting scene is the best of the four terrestrial animals, in our opinion. Whatever your own favourites are, this is clearly a high quality series of nature coins, easily able to sit alongside AllCollect’s other ranges, like the Big Five. We really should get a summary guide to them all together, as we’ve underserved them here in the past. The Lynx is now available to order, with a mintage of 750.