‘Get off your horse and drink your milkspots!’ John Wayne hits the limited silver bullion coin market

Born Marion Robert Morrison on May 26, 1907, John Wayne is one of the most beloved actors in American movie history. From his first major role in the 1930 Western, The Big Trail, until his death from cancer on June 11, 1979, he Acted in scores of Hollywood movies, and spent over three decades as one of the biggest movie stars in the world. He rose to prominence in John Ford’s classic film ‘Stagecoach’, starting a partnership with the outstanding director that would continue throughout his career, going on to star in almost two dozen of his films.

He starred in a wide range of movies, but is most well known for his repertoire of Western classics, like Red River, The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Rio Bravo, and, of course, True Grit – a movie even haters of Westerns enjoyed. He starred alongside many of the greats from the Golden Age of Holywood, and even produced such films as The Alamo, a project he fought long and hard to get made.

The Perth Mint recently issued some gold and silver proof coins honouring the man some forty years after his death, but a bullion coin is a nice touch, especially as we like the design considerably more than the one on the proof coin. A close up of Wayne in his twilight years is overlaid on an image of the man on horseback, no doubt as he would have wanted, and we think it looks great. It’s a Tuvalu issue, so the usual effigy of Queen Elizabeth II adorns the obverse.

This is a limited run coin, available in the popular 1oz silver format and with a relatively small 15,000 mintage. We’ve only seen them at APMEX at present, but availability to spread quickly, although the current pandemic will hinder a smooth roll out of course. In a weeks time the Perth Mint will have a carded version of the coin, although the mintage of that is considerably lower. We can’t show that at present as it’s embargoed. All told, it’s a nice surprise how well this turned out, managing to capture the essence of a hugely popular American icon. Available to order now.

SPECIFICATION
DENOMINATION $1 TVD (Tuvalu)
COMPOSITION 0.9999 silver
WEIGHT 31.1 grams
DIMENSIONS 40.9 mm
FINISH Bullion
MODIFICATIONS None
MINTAGE 15,000
BOX / C.O.A. No / No