We’re going to kick off with our easy favourite of this trio, and the fourth in the Nature’s Architects series. Looking at, at least so far, social insects, we remain in the insect world, but with, the Silk Moth. There are several species, although the one known to most is an almost man-made one, bred over the millennia specifically for silk production. The pupae’s cocoon is made of silk, and some 7,000 of them are killed to produce just a kilo of it. Mankind has such a healthy relationship to nature…

The coin, however, is another beauty in a series that remains very highly regarded here. Struck in high-relief, and antique-finished, it displays a pair of moths on some foliage, with a couple of silk cocoons, gilded for contrast, A terrific representation, free of gimmickry. The obverse is a basic Ghanaian one, which is a shame, but that really is a minor quibble in what is one of the best nature coin series in production today.

While Mint XXI often employs dragons in its designs, the Starburst Amphithere this month, for example, this one is a straight-up Lunar coin. For those unaware, 2024 is the Year of the Green Wood Dragon, Such people as Sigmund Freud, John Lennon, and Joan of Arc are dragons, although I don’t imagine Joan of Arc would want a wooden, fire-breathing one… This is also the most popular lunar animal amongst coin collectors – ironic given it’s the only make believe one.

This is a traditional looking design, not pushing any boundaries, but a high quality example nevertheless. It’s richly coloured, and done in that Asian, serpentine style. A pair of crystals are embedded in the reverse face to serve as eyes. We do like the obverse as well, nicely decorated with flourishes from the region. The biggest coin here, it tips the scales (no pun intended) at five ounces, allowing the coin to reach out to 65 mm in diameter.

Although known for their more ambitious releases, Mint XXI does issue a few smaller coins in the one-ounce range, and this one is themed around the financial world. To be honest, we don’t cover many coins in this genre here, and that’s entirely down to personal bias, and the danger around the staggering damage caused by it. Despite that, we know it’s popular, so here we are.

You’re not looking at two coins here, as this is the obverse and reverse faces of a single unit. The Bear and Bull, traditional names for the market if it’s in a contracting or expanding stage, are each given a coin face, and both have colouration. It’s quite a dynamic piece for a financial coin, although it does lack high-relief. Eschewing that has allowed the coin to hit a 50 mm diameter, so it’s all about choices.