We’ve long been admirers of what Germania Mint has achieved with its unique approach to bullion. Instead of issuing for one or more countries, they created Germania, a historical province in the times of the Roman Empire, that encompassed much of what is now Germany, Poland, and surrounding nations, north of the Rhine river. This has allowed them a free rein with design.

What they’ve done, is build a portfolio around this ‘Germania’ bringing in themes popular in modern numismatics. Thus, we have nature, mythology, and national personifications as subjects. What we have below, are the latest releases in the range, and it’s a mix of cast bars, and regular coins, all a part of this Germanic world this mint has cleverly created. We were lucky to receive three of the four below (all except Solveig) from the mint as samples, and we’ll photograph them for an AgAuShoot to come next week (obviously delayed because of my eye op). All the below are available to order now.

Runes are an ancient system of writing that predates the Latin alphabet. These angular characters are primarily associated with the Germanic peoples of Northern Europe, including the Vikings. The runic alphabet, known as the “Elder Futhark,” consists of 24 symbols, each with its own phonetic value and symbolic meaning, being used for inscriptions on stone, wood, or metal objects with magical or religious significance. They persisted well into the Middle Ages, serving as an integral part of Germanic culture.

It’s a cool idea for the mint’s portfolio, and they debuted the range late in 2023 with six character pieces. Raido is the seventh, and is said to embody dynamism, change and movement. They’re fundamentally just one-ounce cast bars of 0.9999 silver, incused with the rune. That rune has a UV colour applied to it, which glows in the dark under a suitable torch (the Germania Mint sells one). They’re very simple in concept, but extremely collectable, which explains their popularity. They come in a small bag, emblazoned with the rune, and that comes in a simple box. We’re big fans of these.

Goddesses is a similar cast bar to Runes, but in a rectangular format, and decorated with coloured artwork. We never covered the first bar in the series, Freyja (see video above), as this kind of thing is a little outside our regular coverage, but the huge popularity of it means we’ll be covering them going forward. The second one-ounce bar is now out, and depicts Sigyn.

Sigyn was the wife of Loki, the trickster god in Norse mythology, and said to be nothing like him in attitude. She was loyal to him, until Ragnarök, the end of times, and is associated with familial devotion, love and protection. The design on this is a good explanation of why Freyja was such a hit. The artwork is gorgeous, a beautiful, almost gothic depiction, in a style only the Helvetic Mint’s equally attractive ‘Dark Beauties’ series has employed.

Adding to the desirability, is the mintage of just 999 pieces, and the simple, neat packaging, both of which aren’t that common in the cast bar world. A real hit, and we expect this second release to be as popular. Would anyone be interested if we did our own limited bar for the site?

One of the core ranges in Germania World, Valkyries debuts its third issue – Solveig. Designed by Mateusz Frąckowiak, this is a more varied release than many of the mint’s offerings, with just a single standard bullion coin, joined by a pair of embellished variants. The base design remains the same, depicting Solveig, armed with an inscribed axe, as a sun goddess, alongside a bear. In Norse mythology, her name means something akin to ‘Strength of the Sun’.

The bullion coin is the cleanest version, but there’s also a ‘Valhalla’ variant of the same weight, but part gilded, and part plated with, we think, ruthenium, on both faces. Topping the range is a two-ounce high-relief coin, which is antique-finished, and featuring a coloured background. That one is presented in a wooden display frame. All have the mostly common obverse of Valkyries, but in this case, the animal on the left is a bear, unique to Solveig.

Undoubtedly the mint’s flagship series, Germania follows the journey of Lady Germania, its national personification, on a voyage of discovery. It debuted in 2019, but started the ongoing journey story in 2021, so this is the fourth to date. What has made this series so special since that date, is the expanding field of view of the different sizes in the range. Basically, the one kilo coin depicts a wide view of Germania in a scene, with the smaller coins (10, 2, 1 oz) zooming in to an increasingly tight crop of her.

It’s best viewed in the images above, rather than have me try to describe it, but it’s a very inventive concept in this market. In 2023, that was expanded further to include actual changes to the poses and the environment, and that continues here. For 2024, the double-headed eagle has given way to a pair of ravens, specifically
Huginn and Muninn, the birds of Odin, the head of the Norse pantheon. Note the runes on the rocks, a neat tie-in to the cast bars.

As well as the usual four bullion weights, there are one-ounce proof silver and proof gold coins, which use the one-ounce bullion design, along with a gilded/ruthenium-plated version that was produced for the World Money Fair in Berlin. A great addition to the range.