Art Mint’s exquisite ‘Mandala’ series returns with an eighth issue, drawing from the Art Nouveau movement

In amongst the increasing numbers of popular culture, and bullion coins released onto the market these days, there remains a core of classically designed, elegant numismatics that rely on historical roots (like CIT’s awesome Numismatic Icons series), or their sheer artistic merit to appeal to collectors. Art Mint’s long-running ‘Mandala Art’ series is a fine example of the latter.

Launching in early 2015, the series took an unusual approach to visualising cultural style, by using the ancient eastern Mandala concept to do so. Appropriately enough, the first release drew from the mandala’s Sanskrit origins, but since then, it’s moved around the world, across multiple continents and time periods. This series is also a fine archive of how modern minting technology has allowed finer, more defined detail to be struck, and to greater degrees of high-relief. The early coins were full of detail, but the last few releases have been on a whole other level.

The 2022 release is another beautiful design, and after two years of drawing inspiration from the Middle East, we’re back in Europe, ironically in Art Mint’s homeland, France. Art Nouveau was a comprehensive style encompassing architecture, and the arts, particularly decorative. It reached a peak in popularity from 1890 before fizzling out at the beginning of the First World War, and drew elements from the flowing forms of nature, often hinting at movement, and using many modern materials, like glass, ceramics, and concrete.

It spread rapidly through Europe during its heyday, and it can be seen on innumerable structures continent wide, from Barcelona and Paris, to Glasgow and Helsinki. The style reached a peak at the 1900 Paris Exposition, where architecture (like Siegfried Bing’s pavilion), Lalique jewellery, ceramics by Alexandre Bigot, and much more in the field of arts and crafts. The movement gave way, in the 1920s, to Art Deco.

This is, of course, another terrific release, replete with the high-relief intricacy that exemplifies the very best of the industry today, and encapsulating the Art Nouveau style so well. The signature inset mineral is a piece of African Jasper, in this case, provides contrast with the antique finish. The way that the repeating geometric patterns that make up a mandala, can be co-opted to suit so many varying styles, is quite clever. The edge is smooth, and carries the engraved serial number, of which there are 500. As before, this is a three-ounce 0.999 silver coin, issued for Fiji, and coming boxed with a Certificate of Authenticity.

It’s been a pleasure to watch this series unfold over the last eight issues (nine if you count the Notre Dame special), and on the evidence of the Art Nouveau Mandala seen here, it’s lost none of its appeal. Art Mint has carved itself out a niche, producing unique, and sometimes quirky coins, but this flagship series is a perfect example of classic coin art utilising all the tools available to the modern mint. Available now, it can be purchased from dealers worldwide, or from Art Mints new website, with an introductory discount. We predict this will join every other release in this series, with a rapid sell-out.