The only one of the coins here that isn’t a new addition to an existing series, Tenham kicks off Meteorite Geography. This range will look at various meteorite strikes around the globe, and cleverly uses the obverse face to show us exactly where, down to the global coordinates. The reverse face is deeply concave, with a wide border, all exhibiting a good use of texture. At its centre is a sliver of the actual meteorite, square-cut and polished. To be honest, there’s nothing hugely original here, but it is beautifully done, so who cares?

The obverse, however, features a coloured map section showing the continent that Tenham struck, Australia (as if the sharks, spiders, snakes, jellyfish and crocodiles, aren’t enough…). A large crosshair, adorned with coordinates, sits over the strike location. The presentation is superb, with a good-looking two-layer box, the lowest of which holds a magnifying glass. All told, a great package.

The longest established of the four series here, Wildlife in the Moonlight takes a dive into the nocturnal world of species that come to life when the sun goes down. The defining characteristic of this series is simply a large gilded moon
in the background, which contrasts well with the antique finish. We’ve already seen the Long-Eared Owl, the Grey Wolf, Lioness, and American Eagle. For this fifth issue, we head into the reptile world for what we think is the best one yet.

The Green Mamba is depicted hanging nonchalantly from a tree branch, seemingly casual, but in all likelihood, waiting to end the life of anything remotely edible. They could have succumbed to temptation and coloured the snake, but we’re glad they resisted. The nocturnal world is, for humans, an unsaturated, low-contrast environment, and it’s perfectly replicated here. High relief is expertly employed. A terrific coin, although the obverse is a basic one. It comes in a wooden box with a themed outer shipper.

We straight up love this series. As we’ve said before, the focus on behaviour, rather than anatomy, is the key. The previous issues have showcased two other social insects, the Honey Bee, and the Ant, both depicting multiple individuals, the former with a location dance, the latter while foraging. The Bumblebee is a little more solitary in nature, so the designer has chosen to focus on a pair of individuals harvesting pollen from flowers.

It’s a nice change, and the design is quite superb. There’s tons going on, and detail, well layered through the use of high-relief, packs the face from centre to edge. The single gilded flower centre is an obvious focal point, drawing the eye to the action. The Ant and Honey Bee designs were similarly enhanced. Again, a wooden box in a themed shipper makes up the presentation. Top stuff.

Now this is a truly great natural history series. Called Expressions of Wildlife, it couldn’t be any simpler, carrying just a portrait of an animal on the reverse face. Every one of them to date has been fantastic (Lion, Mountain Gorilla, Cape Buffalo), and while the Rhinoceros isn’t as perfect a fit to the round shape of a coin as those are, it’s every bit their equal. Whoever does the artwork for this series, knows their stuff, for sure.

The most striking thing is the skin texture, and the shape of the ears. The small horn doesn’t quite bed in perfectly, but we really are nit-picking here. The overall look is very natural, and it’s a series we’re glad they’ve chosen to keep unmodified with gilding, or colour, for example. The attractive common obverse returns, and the coin is wooden boxed with a themed shipper.