The Fender Stratocaster guitar is 70 years old and a new mystery coin box offers the chance at one of five iconic colour schemes

The latest, and possibly the ultimate example of Fender guitar-shaped coins is this new set, tapping into the randomised contents nature of the New Zealand Mint’s Trading Coin concept, although in a much fairer and more realistic manner. It’s the 70th anniversary of Fender’s most iconic product, the Stratocaster guitar, and MTB/PAMP issued what they call their ‘Mystery Box’.

The idea is simple enough. You’re buying a single guitar-shaped coin, continuing the mints awesome practice of paying homage to the colourful history of the iconic music brand. The difference here is, you don’t know which of the five colour designs you will get. Each of the five has a different mintage, although all of them combined are capped at 5,000 pieces. The mintages vary according to the rarity of the original guitar the colour scheme is based on, and they vary from just 70 for the rare ‘Sunburst’ scheme, to 1930 for the relatively common ‘Amethyst’.

I’m really not a fan of randomised contents on something like precious metals, where the unit cost is so high, and the subsequent disappointment on not getting the one you wanted, equally so, but this does seem to be the least problematic version of the concept, and it’s just so well implemented, right down to the innovative packaging, that to be overly critical seems quite petty. Here’s hoping you get that ‘Sunburst’. Available now, they aren’t that expensive, either.

Don’t forget, we have a fine Thematic guide to coins of a modern musical nature, which includes all of these guitar coins, as well as a full round-up of many other series. Check it out for the full look.