Germania Mint and the Mint of Poland follow up their striking 2023 Chameleon silver coin with a vibrant Betta Fish design

Like a select few other producers, Germania Mint also partners with others to combine talents, and they’ve done so with quite a bit of success. Issues like the Impact Moments coin, for which we have our own AgAuShoot images, are quite excellent, as was the first in a nature series they produce in collaboration with the Mint of Poland, called ‘Representatives of the Species’. That coin, the video for which you can view lower down, depicted a Chameleon, setting up the look of this series with its riot of colour over a black ruthenium plating.

It’s time for the second issue, and continuing with that vibrant colour over a black background, we have the Betta Fish, also called the Siamese Fighting Fish. These are beautiful fish, very captivating in motion, and the depiction on the coin does a fine job of capturing that. There’s a good use of perspective, and a flow to the animal that all looks very natural and correct. The colour is intense, almost metallic, and makes the subject ‘pop’ from the black background.

Rather than just colour the background black, the coin utilises ruthenium plating, a rare transition metal in the platinum group, that gives it the desired hue. The chaos of underwater flora fills out the reverse face, but doesn’t overwhelm the subject, which we feel would definitely be the case had it been coloured instead. A wise choice.

The ruthenium plated obverse has a similar style to the first coin, except here, the botanical border is filled with an aquatic scene, rather than an arboreal one. The Public Seal of Niue, and the issue inscriptions, sit in a central area. It’s all very attractive and rounds out the theme of the coin perfectly.

Packaging is very ecologically aware, appropriately enough, made only with natural materials – card, wood, linen. It all looks good, so no complaints on that front, and a pat on the back from us for making the effort. We really like this one, and we think it’s an improvement on the 2023 Chameleon coin. Even collectors who usually eschew colour on their coins have to admit, it works well when used as it is here. A first-class effort, it’s available to order now, and only 500 will be struck.