With CIT’s Spring launch upon us, the first thing we do is look for the latest in their Numismatic Icons series, and we’re pleased to see that the sixth issue has debuted. If you’re unaware of this series, it reimagines classic Greek coins from antiquity, bringing modern, ultra-high-relief strikes to ancient inspiration, and it does it so successfully, that I personally consider it the finest modern coin series in production today.

We do have one of our Coin Series Profiles of the series up for your examination, and you can see the clean elegance of them here, something continued with this 2025 coin – Leon. The Lion was a popular motif on Greek coins, as it was associated with the important god, Apollo, who, amongst other things, was associated with colonisation. This explains the wide-ranging use of the lion across the Greek world, and we’ve seen original coins from many towns spread throughout the Anatolian coastline.

The coin chosen to be the inspiration for this one emanates from Leontini, situated on the Mediterranean island of Sicily. This was a noted agricultural region, not just in antiquity, but to this day, and that explains the presence of the grain of barley below the lion’s head. This was common, and some versions had multiple grains framing the head. Simultaneously, the design symbolised both the protection of Apollo, and the fertility of the region. CIT’s beautiful design encapsulates that perfectly, taking the original meaning to heart.

The obverse is the usual Dan Thorne effigy of King Charles III, which is the only downside to this range, but an understandable one given the level of relief utilised on the reverse face for a one-ounce coin. Indeed, there could be a whole series just dedicated to obverse variants of this Leontini lion coin, and ancient examples exist with an effigy of Apollo, a Quadriga chariot, Nike riding a horse, a barley grain, or a combination of two or more of these. Ancient numismatics is an incredibly varied field, and collectors must have a nightmare of a job compiling sets!

As has been the case with the first five issues, there are one-ounce silver, and one-ounce gold versions, both with antiquing, and both essentially identical in design apart from the usual denomination. I have to say, the gold version is just stunning, and I say that as someone who isn’t a fan of coloured gold coins in general. A classic case of less is more. Both of these are presented in latex-skin floating frames. It also wouldn’t be CIT without a minigold variant, and it looks terrific for its 0.5 gram weight. This one has an optional box, and like the others, is available to order now. Outstanding.