Star Wars coin series heads up into space with the Millennium Falcon blueprint

One of the biggest popular culture properties in the world right now, the New Zealand Mint did well to obtain the licence to this revered fantasy world, especially with the purchase of it by the Disney Corporation and the subsequent increase in the frequency of movie release, and arguably the quality, especially over the less than well recieved prequel trilogy. With future plans announced, Star Wars is going to be hot stuff for at least the next few years.

The New Zealand Mint’s precious metal collectable coin range has been primarily focused on two ranges to date. The undoubted flagship has been the superb Classic Star Wars, a series of cleanly struck coins each depicting one of the major characters using iconic scenes from the original trilogy. Available in 1 oz silver, as well as ¼ oz and 1 oz gold, there have been seven coins released to date, the last featuring Luke Skywalker having its debut just last week. There are more of these to come throughout 2017. In addition to Classic, the mint produces modern movie themed coins in 1 oz silver format with selective colouring. These are more popular with the casual collector we believe. Both The Force Awakens and Rogue-One have seen coins.

Now expanding out from this, the New Zealand Mint have launched a third range looking at some of the ships that fill this beloved universe. Initially to be a six-coin series, although that may change, each coin will showcase a vessel in blueprint form starting with possibly the most famous spaceship in movie history, the Millenium Falcon. Straightforward affairs, a simple coloured 1 oz silver round, they’re an interesting change from what has gone before and will no doubt have enormous appeal in the Star Wars memorabilia market.

Issued for Niue, the coin is available today. Packaged in what has become the standard box/shipper from this mint – it’s a good quality item – there will be a maximum of 10,000 minted. Next month should hopefully see the second coin in the same vein. Available from the NZ Mint webstore or from dealers like site sponsors Minted-UK and PowerCoin, Star Wars continues to thrive in the numismatic world and the mint has some fine plans for the year.

The Millennium Falcon is a spaceship in the Star Wars universe commanded at one time by Corellian smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee first mate, Chewbacca. The highly modified Corellian Engineering Corporation (CEC) YT-1300 light freighter first appears in Star Wars (1977), and subsequently in The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return of the Jedi (1983) and The Force Awakens (2015).

Han Solo won the Millennium Falcon from Lando Calrissian in the card game ‘sabacc’. In Star Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker charter the ship to deliver them, C-3PO, R2-D2, and the stolen Death Star plans to Alderaan. When the Falcon is captured by the Death Star, the group conceal themselves in smuggling compartments built into the floor to avoid detection during a search of the ship. Solo later collects his fee for delivering them to the hidden Rebel base and departs under bitter circumstances, but returns to assist Luke in destroying the Death Star.

Solo flies the Falcon, with Chewbacca, Leia, and C-3PO aboard, to elude the Imperial Starfleet in The Empire Strikes Back, wherein they take refuge at Cloud City, where Darth Vader captures Solo. Lando Calrissian helps the others escape and, at the film’s end, he departs in the Falcon to track down Solo and his captor, Jabba the Hutt. Calrissian again flies the Falcon during the climax of Return of the Jedi, with Nien Nunb as co-pilot, to destroy the second Death Star. Before the second Death Star is destroyed. Lando accidentally damages the ship by hitting the circular radar dish on a random pipe or circuit in the second Death Star. Lando and the others still have succes in destroying the Galactic Empire.

In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, set some 30 years after Return of the Jedi, the Falcon is in the possession of a scrap dealer named Unkar Plutt on the desert planet Jakku, having been stolen from Solo and Chewbacca some years prior. Scavenger Rey and former stormtrooper Finn steal the Falcon in order to escape from an attack by the First Order, having been targeted for having the droid BB-8 in their possession. They are captured by a smuggling freighter, which turns out to be piloted by Solo and Chewbacca, who reclaim the Falcon for their own. Forced to escape in the Falcon from an ambush by parties to whom Solo is heavily in debt, Solo reluctantly agrees to help Rey and Finn return BB-8 to the Resistance. (Source: Wikipedia)