The Klingon, Worf, is showcased on the Perth Mints first Gods of Olympus-style antiqued Star Trek coin

Both friends and enemies of the United Federation of Planets, the Klingons are today one of the most widely recognised alien species in science-fiction. Present in all series of Star Trek, its most famous character is Worf, son of Mogh. A Commander on the USS Enterprise-D, Worf was one of the first to serve in Starfleet and the character became a core part of both The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine itinerations of Star Trek. Played expertly by Michael Dorn, Worf is one of the most popular charcters in the NG period and a great choice for a coin.

We’ll confess to being disappointed by Star Trek numismatics, especially when compared to the superb line-up put out by the New Zealand Mint for Star Wars. A succession of simple coloured coins hasn’t really pushed the envelope, and some quite bulky packaging seems to have put collectors off as well. The recent communicator coin was a great return to form, but this new release is better yet.

Struck in the Gods of Olympus style and to an identical specification, the design by Jennifer McKenna is a mix of textures and logos, along with a quite superb rendition of Commander Worf – instantly recognisable. The obverse is the usual effigy of QEII, so no surprises there, but it does a good job of ensuring the reverse is free of intrusive inscriptions.

Packaging comprises the usual custom plastic piece that the Perth Mint has used for many of these coins in the past, only this time with a red light instead of a blue one (or green in the case of the Borg release). It’s a shame the mint hasn’t moved away from these and towards something a bit better. They’ve made a fine acrylic frame for the Figure Eight Dragon coin, so a similar item in the shape of the Klingon Empire logo would’ve been a great choice, for example. At $230.00 AUD, it’s not a cheap coin, but understandably so given the licencing costs. A mintage of 1,701 is a neat nod to the USS Enterprise having the designation NCC-1701. Available today, we like this one a lot and hope we’ll see more imaginative Star Trek coins like this rather than the usual coloured items we’ve had to date.