Last October, World Coin Appreciation (WCA) released a neat coin shaped like a miniature cassette tape, to honour the memory of Lou Ottens, a Dutch inventor working for the tech giant Philips, who created the cassette system in 1963, and who died in 2021. Now, they’re back with the concept, this time marking 60 years since the invention of the compact cassette itself.

At its core, this two-ounce coin is similar to the Lou Ottens piece, but it’s had a complete makeover. Everything from the central window to the inscriptions are different, but the biggest change is down to the employment of colour on both faces. It’s designed to look like one of the vividly coloured retro-styled cassettes that were hugely popular in the 70s and 80s before Compact Disc gained market share, choosing the look of a compilation tape.

If you liked the first issue, you’ll like this one, and it’s a neat homage to something long consigned to history, and less likely to return, given it lacks vinyl’s audio quality, and the convenience and capacity of digital. Only 333 of these will be struck, and it should be available to order now.