Scottsdale Mint have released the penultimate pair of designs in the fifth annual run through their ambitious Eastern Caribbean 8 programme, the first of which is this design featuring the biggest amphibian in the region, the Giant Ditch Frog, more famously known as the Mountain Chicken. Quite a big wee beastie, tipping the scales at up to a kilo, it’s found only on Montserrat (in small numbers), and the issuer of this coin, Dominica.

A solid, attractive design, it simply shows the frog in its habitat, and appears to be an accurate portrayal. The bullion variants are cleanly struck, and there are coloured proof versions for the collector. A good addition to a huge range. For the unaware, this is a programme covering eight Caribbean nations, each getting a unique design every year. You can read all about them, and see them all, in our comprehensive profile of the series. The mint is still catching up with the 2022 schedule, and a 2023 programme seems increasingly unlikely, but not beyond the realms of possibility.

The same range of formats as the Dominican coin above, this one is issued for St. Vincent and the Grenadines and eschews nature for a depiction of an 18th century warship. Shown in formation, and under full sail, its a good design, although a little overly heavy on the colour on the proof versions for our taste. We like highlighting rather than full coverage. Ships are always a solid subject for coins, and for us, that remains true here.

Producer of many a bullion series showcasing the frankly unusual fauna in Australia, the Perth Mint has expanded into multiple low-mintage series in that genre over the last decade, spurred on by the success of the Swan, and Wedge-Tailed Eagle ranges, no doubt. The Wombat, another Aussie icon, is the subject here, and the 2023 coin is the third to date.

Depicting a Wombat at rest, it’s another decent design, especially considering this isn’t a creature known for its dramatic and exciting nature. There’s a Blue Fairywren bird on its back, and a smattering of flora, including Billy Buttons, around it, so good effort has been expended spicing the design up a little. The obverse is the usual effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, with the memorial date inscription. The base version is a typical reverse-proof style coin from this mint, and there’s a coloured version that comes mounted to a blistercard for the collector.

Pobjoy Mint’s Ancient Egyptian series of four coins continues with a second issue. Released to commemorate 250 years since the birth of British Egyptologist Dr Thomas Young, it depicts Osiris, and follows the first coin featuring Isis. There’s a background filled with stone carved hieroglyphics, over which stands Osiris in a similar, although more detailed style.

Another perennial favourite in numismatic circles, the Egyptian civilisation was replete with striking imagery, so the coins are usually good, and that’s no exception here. We like this one. There’s a silver and a gold coin, both an ounce in weight, and both rocking small mintages, positively microscopic, in the case of the gold. Issued for Sierra Leone, that African nations pretty coat-of-arms occupies the obverse.

We don’t cover enough of the output of the Pressburg Mint, so on the path to rectifying that, here’s the latest in their Vivat Humanitas series, marking some of the major accomplishments of humanity. The latest is Democracy, something seemingly on life-support around the world at the moment. Nevertheless, a fascinating subject, with its roots in Ancient Greece, and that’s what the coin mines for inspiration.

A Greco-Roman column carrying that ultra-iconic all-seeing eye so beloved of conspiracy theorists, dominates the foreground, and there are scenes of Ancient Greece, a parliament to the left, and the Acropolis to the right. The inscription “δημοκρατία” sits on the top of the column, and means ‘democracy’ in Greek. It looks good, as far as well can tell from the renders. We haven’t had a Pressburg Mint coin here to look at, but we suspect this will look great in hand.

Kicking off a bit of a frenzy when it first debuted a decade ago, the Wedge-tailed Eagle series remains a hit coin for the Perth Mint, no doubt because of its pedigree. The series is designed by John Mercanti, a former Chief Engraver at the United States Min, and a designer well regarded in numismatic circles. This is the tenth coin in the series, and a return to the classic design he was known for.

This stunning bird is depicted with outstretched wings, and on a branch. There’s nothing else in the background, but it’s another fine, natural depiction of this apex predator. We have the one-ounce silver version pictured here, but in typical Perth Mint style, there will be gold, and proof versions, along with some particularly nice high-relief variants, although you’ll have to dig deeper into the wallet for those.

We’re seeing an uptick in the number of coins issued for the Mediterranean island of Malta in recent years, such as the neat ‘Knights of the Past’ series from Germania Mint, and it now seems like Pressburg Mint are joining in with an issue of their own. Malta is inextricably associated with its famous cross, and has been for centuries.

It’s an intricate affair, with four double-pointed arms, with each of the eight points said to denote the eight aspirations and obligations of the Knights of Malta, an organisation that exists to this day. Indeed, my half-Italian friend’s father is one, for his charity work. It looks terrific on the coin (despite the poor quality images), and the national coat-of-arms on the obverse is a beauty as well. We’d love to see one of these in hand. One to watch, although with an unlimited mintage.

It’s been a while since we saw the Japanese legend of Gojira on a coin, having to go back to early 2021 for the APMEX release based on the Hollywood movie, involving a fight between Godzilla and King Kong. This latest release isn’t based on a movie, but visually, at least, seems to hark back to the classic Japanese movies from decades ago.

Called Godzilla V Monsters, there are two designs, one featuring the multi-headed nemesis King Ghidorah , and the other the giant flying insect, Mothra, There are base silver bullion variants with a mintage of just 3,000 units each, and coloured versions that top out at just 1,000 pieces. The latter are supplied in the TEP capsule that APMEX keep for their lower mintage variants, although as always, they remain ungraded.

Not to be confused with the New Zealand Mint range that is now six issues old, the APMEX issued Samoan bullion series working its way through the DC universe is only three issues old, and that third coin is Superman, A pose straight from the Golden Age comics, it depicts him flying over Metropolis. The iconic logo is at the bottom, and it’s all quite on point for the genre.

There’s silver and gold versions, both an ounce in weight, along with a silver coloured variant, which comes in one of those NGC-like slabs that APMEX calls TEP. They aren’t graded, however. The gold comes in a tin with a COA. It seems weird to have two simultaneously issued bullion series with the same licence, but who are we to decipher the complicated world of modern merchandising…