A new bullion coin series from Scottsdale Mint, a producer known for its varied and widespread selection, Serpent of Milan was an interesting idea. Based on a centuries old emblem from the Italian city-state, the Biscione depicts a serpent eating a human child. It's currently still used by the top tier football team, Inter Milan and by the car maker, Alfa Romeo. The debut of this design at the beginning of the [...]
A series that debuted back in 2015 with the Amber Scarabaeus, the Mint of Poland's Ancient Egyptian themed series has evolved by taking the same basic design - an Egyptian atyle beetle - and decorating it with different types of plating, colour and minerals. In all, it's been quite an eclectic mix, and one we'll probably do a Coin Series Profile on soon.These remain 17.5 gram 0.999 silver coins, issued for Niue and [...]
With everything that's been going on in the world, it's no surprise that the coin world hasn't been spared, and we'd not have been surprised in the slightest if Scottsdale Mint had decided to eschew its annual bullion jaunt around eight Caribbean nations. Late, but unbowed, the first in the mints third Caribbean cruise has now launched, and as before, it's Antigua & Barbuda kicking it off.This nations theme has been its old history [...]
We saw a good selection of coins last year that celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, and in amongst the mix was a domed piece by the Pobjoy Mint. A two-ounce silver coin with plenty of high relief, it was a neat enough design, mixing various elements associated with the mission (flag, footprint, patches) and laying them on a lunar surface. It was issued for Ascension Island, appropriately [...]
The Monnaie de Paris is launching a new range of coins celebrating the French involvement in the American War of Independence. The first issue marks the 240th anniversary of the arrival of the Marquis de La Fayette in Boston aboard the frigate Hermione. Confusingly, it's also billed as part of the mints Major Landmarks in the History of Humanity range, so it remains to be seen where the series goes from here. The design [...]
Marcus Aurelius was the Emperor of Rome from 161 to 180, the fifth of the Five Good Emperors (a term coined by Machiavelli centuries later), and the last emperor of the Pax Romana, an age of relative peace and stability for the Roman Empire. Despite that, his reign is one of military campaigning, seeking to expand and solidify Rome's borders. The tragedy that was the devestating Antonine Plague (killing around 5 million) [...]
A favourite of ours and a series that should have great appeal to the classic numismatist, 'History of Polish Coin' takes a centuries long journey through the coinage of this Central European country. Starting in 2013 with a 1,000 year old design, we've now moved forward to the mid 18th century for this 14th issue. These are not direct copies of the originals, rather they reproduce the coin as a coin on [...]
The Royal Dutch Mint's 'Silver Ducat' range switched over from 'The 12 Provinces' to 'Dutch castles' for 2020, and this one, Heeswijk Castle, is the second of twelve to be issued, following De Haar Castle in February. These are 28.25g in weight, with a 40mm diameter. They're struck in the rarely used 0.873 fineness silver to a proof standard and come in a tin. The mintage is 2,000. Heeswijk Castle in North-Brabant, [...]
The Mint of Poland's dive into Asian culture continues with a new coin in their signature 2oz ultra high relief range. The series is called 'Legends of the Great Chinese Emperors' and as the title suggests, features a non-historical look at genuine figures from the formative years of this ancient state.First out of the Heavenly Gate is the famous first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, founder of the short-lived Qin Dynasty that gave China [...]
Last year was a big coin event with the 50th anniversary of the amazing moon landing, undertaken on the Apollo 11 by Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins. While that was a success, it wasn't all plain sailing for NASA. Just a year later, the Apollo 13 mission to return to the moon almost ended in tragedy and the death of all on board. A gas explosion meant the landing was [...]
