The Disney collection grows ever larger with a new addition to the New Zealand Mints ‘Disney Princesses’ series, one putting the animation giants leading two-dimensional ladies in the spotlight. The first coin in this new series had its debut back in January featuring Cinderella, the second coin depicted Aurora, the lead of one of Disney’s most popular movies, Sleeping Beauty, and now the Princess Aurora from The Little Mermaid is upon us.

As is the norm for nearly all the New Zealand Mints Disney coins, there are two formats being offered, namely a 1oz coloured proof silver and a ¼oz proof gold. These seem to be the same formats that the New Zealand Mint is sticking with for the Disney coins, matching those used for the six-coin Mickey and Friends set, and the two highly regarded ‘Vintage Disney’ coins, ‘Steamboat Willie’ and Donald Ducks 80th Anniversary.

These are, frankly, coins you’ll either love or ignore. They’re struck to a high quality as you’d expect, as well as having some excellent packaging. The designs typify that clean, bright look that’s become associated with Disney, so on that score we think they’ll do very well in the Disney market. For outright coin collectors, it’s another range of coloured silver coins of which the market is awash, so it becomes all about the subject. For example, the NZ Mints Thunderbirds coin are of an identical format, but the subject has far greater resonance for me having grown up loving that ground-breaking series. These not so much, but I’m in a minority for sure. Subject is the key here, in contrast to some of the newer generation of coins like the Solar System: Moon, in which the design of the coin itself is the key selling point.

We’re not 100% sure on how big this series is, the smart money being on five coins, so it’s an eminently collectible set for Disneyites, of which the world is awash. If the mint has any sense, a coin featuring Elsa from Frozen will be next, to capitalise on the interest in what has become a worldwide phenomenon.

We understand that more Disney is on the way through 2015, including we hope, more vintage coins along the lines of Steamboat Willie. I always thought that Fantasia would make a cool coin, but keep the colour off them please. Available today from the NZ Mints very nice new website, or our Aussie readers can buy from the mint that struck the coins, Perth.

MINTS DESCRIPTION

Ariel dreams of being with Prince Eric, and defies her father, King Triton, to make her dreams a reality. She gives up her voice to Ursula the sea witch in return for a spell that will make her human. But Ariel only has three days to make Eric fall in love with her, or she will belong to Ursula for ever. With help from her loyal friends, Ariel succeeds, and marries Eric with her father’s blessing.

Did you know? The Little Mermaid was based on a fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson. The film went on to win ACADEMY AWARDS® for Best Song, “Under the Sea”, and Best Original Score.

REVERSE: This design features Princess Ariel surrounded by relief engraved flowers.

OBVERSE: This features the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

PACKAGING: The 1oz silver coin comes presented in delightful fairy-tale book style packaging. The themed packaging makes this coin an ideal gift for any Disney fan or coin collector. The Certificate of Authenticity is printed onto the packaging.

The ¼oz Gold Coin comes presented in delightful fairy-tale styled outer packaging and a high-quality wooden inner coin case. The themed packaging makes this coin an ideal gift for any Disney fan or coin collector. The Certificate of Authenticity sits within the packaging.

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