One of the Mint of Polands releases that come out of nowhere, Dragon takes a classic subject, much used by the numismatic world, and if we’re brutally honest, does little with it. The Western-style depiction of the mythical beast is decent enough, with a fine pose and what seems to be a nice level of detail, but the background imagery is far too overpowering, in our view. In isolation, it would probably work well, but we live in a market awash with aftermarket paint jobs on bullion coins, and this has a look that could be confused with those.

The coin is struck in 0.999 silver and has an unusual weight of 32.90 grams. The diameter of 40.85 mm is also not one we see often, and we can see little explanation for the dimensions in the design itself. As an issue for Niue, it carries the Ian Rank Broadley effigy of Queen Elizabeth II – the Mint of Poland’s standard looking one. A mintage of 500 pieces is sensible, and packaging looks good, with the coin presented in a latex-skin frame. Available to order now, it has sparks of excellence, but for me at least, misses the mark.