It was only last week that we published our Coin Series Profile featuring the Steampunk series by CIT, but they aren’t the only producer issuing a high-end series in this genre. Mint of Gdańsk (MoG) kicked off their range in 2021 with a Cyberpunk coin – the first in a varied mix of formats covered under the banner of ‘The Punk Universe’.

We’re not exaggerating when we say the offerings are mixed. There are silver foil ‘banknotes’, 200-gram silver coins, silver bullion coins in 1 & 2 oz weights, and most impressively, a stunning 5 oz silver statue-coin. However, the most popular, and what could be considered to be the prime range, are the 2 oz high-relief silver coins, of which the latest issue we’re covering here, is the third.

Rather than focus on Steampunk exclusively, MoG has chosen to cast a wide net rather than a deep one. Each annual issue has a distinctive twist on the genre. The 2021 was Cyberpunk, and the 2022 coin was a neat look at the Japanese-inspired Silkpunk. For 2023, they’ve moved on to the mid-20th century interwar period, when diesel engines took over from steam, and the industrialisation of warfare became the norm. The Victorian aesthetic has given way to an Art Deco one.

While there was a certain serenity to the 2022 Silkpunk coin, here, warfare is the predominant theme. In the foreground stands a soldier armed with an automatic weapon, below whom lays a German-style Pickelhelm. Behind him is a cool, legged tank. In the background is a line-up of various forms of transport – a hot-rod with a gun, a motorcycle, an airship, and a train. The environment is a ruined cityscape. It’s all very cool-looking, but obviously, we’re a sucker for a coin with a tank on it…

As with previous releases in this series, There’s extensive colouration, and it’s of the UV glow-in-the-dark variety, The glowing sections look especially impressive in the dark, being well-chosen, and restrained in scope. The obverse is unique to this particular coin, and sits the Public Seal of Niue, within what looks like an old internal combustion engine.

The coin will come boxed with a Certificate of Authenticity, and the mintage is capped at just 400 pieces. It’s available to order now, as is another recent release – Cyberpunk – which has been struck in the 200 gram silver format this producer seems to have taken a liking to. We haven’t covered that one, but we may do a Coin Series Profile of The Punk Universe later this year.