The Germania Mint continues its jaunt through the semi-historical Germania of Roman times, with the second issue in its ‘Valkyries’ subseries. Alongside Germania, Allegories, Mythical Forest, and Germania Beasts, Valkyries takes elements of the old Germanic legends and brings them to numismatic life. The first in this subseries was Hildegard (which because of my own idiocy, didn’t get covered), and the second one we see here is Ostara.

Symbolising spring, dawn, growth and the blooming of flora, Ostara morphed into what we now call Easter. The goddess of victory over life, she is depicted on the coin in traditional garb, wearing a floral headband, and sporting a Berkanan rune around her neck (symbolising vitality and regeneration, female fertility and beauty). We love the stag to her right, almost looking like it’s photobombing! Overall, it carries the Germania Mint’s style perfectly, and it’s an attractive piece, designed by Mateusz Frąckowiak. It’s enhanced by that pretty obverse, which is largely carried over from Hildegard, but with the wolf replaced by the stag. There are also a pair of enhanced, coloured variants, which we’ll look at another time.

Back in late 2021, the Mint of Gdańsk debuted its first ‘Slavic Bestiary’ coin, a three-ounce silver piece we thought was very original in theme, and very attractive in execution. This was far removed from a bullion coin, employing high-relief, colour, and gilding in decoration. Despite that, the mint has chosen the design for its first ever bullion coin, and we think it works beautifully.

This was always a pretty design, and it’s lost surprisingly little in the transition to the vastly cheaper format. Even the intricate obverse design has made the journey intact. Just a two-ounce silver version at present, which is all it really needs to be we think, it’s clear this won’t be the only coin in the series, given they’ve just made a collection box available with space for ten coins. The next in the numismatic range was an equally gorgeous Domowik, and we suspect that will be the next bullion version as well. Can’t wait to see it.

Another popular series, and for good reason, the South African Mint’s ‘Big Five’ continues its second run through these beasts of legend. The Leopard is the fourth of the five this time around, and is another pretty design. The equally attractive repeating face reappears on the obverse – a signature element of the series since its 2019 debut.

We’ve only seen the one-ounce silver variant so far, but there are various finishes and metals on offer usually, including platinum, along with some impressive sets. This silver version comes in a nice themed blistercard. A fine series.

The latest entrant in US dealer APMEX’s range of Looney Tunes coins is the legendary Road-Runner. Known for his exploits outsmarting Wile E. Coyote and his arsenal of ACME weapons, this marvellous creation is well overdue for a bullion coin appearance. It follows Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny in the series.

The design has the same concentric rings in the background, and there’s a terrific image of the Road-Runner in front of it. These are very simple designs, and all the better for it. Even the coloured variant looks good. That one has a 2,000 mintage, and comes slabbed, while the standard coin is capped at 15,000 units. There are gold and silver proof versions available as well. I love this series for its purity of design, and we can’t wait to see his nemesis, or one of the countless other iconic characters from Looney Tunes.

The African Ounce series is well into its second decade of issuance, and this 16th release keeps up the same design principles of the fifteen coins that preceded it. There’s a relief map of the African continent, a loosely defined border, and an image of the subject animal, in this case the formidable Nile Crocodile.

If you’re collecting this series, you’ll know what to expect. If you haven’t taken the plunge yet, there’s little here to change your mind. We like them, despite the relative lack of change every year. There’s a one-ounce proof silver variant available as well, with a mintage of 1,000 pieces.

A new reverse-frosted bullion coin from Pobjoy Mint has debuted with a very America-centric design. Marking the 75th anniversary since the Walking Liberty half dollar ended its three-decade long minting run, it features both the Walking Liberty, and the Bald Eagle that have been such an iconic part of American currency since the early 20th century.

Designed by the famous engraver, Adolph A. Weinman, it was one of the last coins minted with silver, before the US abandoned it for the base metal that countries use today. The bullion coin just released has a reverse-frosted finish, and a very tight mintage of 7,500 pieces.

A new African wildlife series is always welcome, and the latest one looks particularly interesting. Who doesn’t love a deadly snake! This series is strictly limited to the African continent, so the psychotic Australian species won’t be showing up, but to say the choice is still expansive would be an understatement.

The design looks decent, with the Black Mamba looking very well done. Some foliage in the background, grass perhaps, would’ve been nice, but that’s me being picky. The border is relatively small, something we like to see. The obverse is a standard one for the Republic of Congo. A tight mintage of 10,000 is attractive. A good start to a series we’ll be watching.