Along with their Tiffany Art coins, Coin Invest Trust’s (CIT) two ranges of Mongolian-issued wildlife coins are amongst the modern numismatic collectors most eagerly awaited releases every year. We have to agree that it’s for good reason. While the gilded range is fairly new, it jumped out of the gate on a high with several awards and nominations to it’s name, including Coin Constellation, and Krause Coin of the Year awards.

The older Swarovski crystal adorned range sits on a whole other level of respect and ranks amongst the most consistently excellent coin series of modern times. Along with the older Tiffany Art range, these are considered CIT’s flagship series and each and every one of the six released to date has been of an extremely high standard; no weak designs at all to date.

These really are beautiful coins, but they suffered from being initially offered for sale at too high a price by dealers over the last couple of years, and collectors have bitten back. Last years Manul cat was a superb coin but was selling for half the price of the 2013 entrant. This 2015 design has debuted at up to €100 less than before and we think that’s an excellent move, possibly saving this series as an annual favourite. When prices rise too fast and collectors see any potential rise in value pre-taken on purchase, they tend to think twice about buying it in the first place. This new dealer flexibility will, in our opinion, help re-invigorate interest in the series. What we don’t want to see is a situation where prices rise too high, too quickly. A gradual increase is both more attractive to end-buyers, and has a greater chance of being stable.

These coins should be shipping towards the end of March, beginning of April, and seem to be settling at just over the €150 level. While we’re not expecting fakes for some time, try to buy from a reputable dealer. While the coins have CIT’s proprietary SeQrySign security marking, earlier coins have been appearing with alarming regularity on eBay, so be careful.

WILDLIFE PROTECTION: CAMPBELL’S HAMSTER

The sixth coin in an award-winning range of coins, the first coin came out in 2007 before becoming an annual release with the awesome Ural Owl in 2011. Well loved for incredible designs that just seem perfectly suited to a coin, the Campbells Hamster certainly lives up to the standards of the series, and in person the coin is impressive.

MINTS DESCRIPTION: Campbell’s dwarf hamsters (Phodopus campbelli) originate from Mongolia, northeast China and southern Siberia but are nowadays bred worldwide and kept as pets. They are usually more active during the day than the golden hamster which is equally popular.

Adult Campbell’s hamster reach a body size of eight to ten centimetres. The small rodents feed mainly on various plant seeds and occasionally on small insects. The hamster in turn is preyed upon by raptors and steppe foxes.

MONGOLIAN NATURE: FALCO CHERRUG

The third coin in this multi-award winning series, the Saker falcon coin is a step up from last years horse, but still lacks the fine delicacy of the Mongolian Wolf. There was a fragility to the cut-out in the first coin that hasn’t been repeated, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t a fine looking numismatic; it is. With the 2014 Horse being available at much keener prices than was previously the case, this one should be a deserved hit and well worth picking up.

MINTS DESCRIPTION: The Saker falcon is Mongolia’s national bird. All citizens of the country are encouraged to consider it a symbol of Mongolian history, culture, and above all, as the flagship species for nature conservation because today, the Saker falcon is one of the most endangered birds of prey worldwide. A Situation which will hopefully change soon!

THE HALF-GRAM GOLD VERSIONS

A coin size that’s becoming more and more popular of late, with the Perth Mint, Royal Canadian Mint, Treasures of Oz and others releasing some really nice designs in the format, all the more impressive given the diameters involved (11-14 mm).

CIT have long been an advocate of this particular size and many have amongst the highest mintages of any of their coins, so they obviously see value in continuing with them. They’re a unique and attractive way to build a decent numismatic gold collection at a good price, in our opinion, so long may they continue.

PACKAGING

Silhouette Falcon at left, Swarovski Hamster at right. The Falcon packaging is a nice custom job, whereas the Campbells Hamster is a standard Coin Invest Trust box with a custom imprint on the lid.