At last! South Park hits the coin world in style, with Agoro’s latest trading coin range, with a 1 of 1 gold chaser
Agoro (by New Zealand Mint) return to their trading coin concept again, with an all-new franchise, the cult classic adult animated series, South Park. Now on its 28th season, and currently as popular as it’s ever been, this utterly awesome series has been a love of mine since the first episode, and it makes me mightily happy to see it come to coins.
However, the trading coin concept isn’t one that lends itself to the average collector or South Park fan, and if you want a specific one of the 52 coins in this set, you’re going to have to raid the piggy bank, and hope the pig is a big one. If you’re a casual collector who just wants a couple of South Park coins, they’re a fun, if expensive way to get them. I’ve laid out how they’re sold below, for those new to the range, and the various designs and mintages that comprise it.
An important note, to keep things as fair as possible, and prevent speculators buying them up, Agoro is using a site called EQL, that limits purchasers to a maximum of 10 boxes. It won’t be perfect, of course, but kudos to the folks at Agoro for at least trying to give everyone a fair chance. If I had the funds, I’d be picking one up for sure. The site can be accessed here, and at the time of publication (6pm London-time), there’s only four hours left to buy, so don’t hang around.
HOW THEY ARE SOLD
The coins are sold in sealed boxes, each of which contains two randomly inserted coins. You don’t know what is in them until you open the box, and it could be any mix of the different coloured tiers outlined below. If you’re looking for a specific single coin, either because you want a particular character, or are trying to complete a set, you’re going to have to hit the aftermarket. We don’t doubt that many of these will be bought by dealers, who will open them, and sell the coins separately at huge markups.
You’ll know I’m not a fan of this, as it’s hugely collector-unfriendly. Buying a pack of baseball cards for five bucks is one thing, but buying $460 (in the US) boxes is something else entirely, and makes getting a full set almost impossible. I saw one set of the early Star Wars collection of 51 coins for sale at a dealer for a staggering $58,000, and that was a couple of years ago when a box was $299.
Look, when all is said and done, the choice is yours. Waiting to buy a coin you really want is going to be expensive (expect $300+ for the commonest coins on EBay), but if you just want a bit of that South Park magic, it’s less of a problem.
EMERALD TIER
Emerald is the common tier, even though only 250 of each will be minted. The ten most popular kid characters each have a coin of their own, and the capsules have a green theming inside. I want a Cartman!!
TOPAZ TIER
Next up is Topaz, with its orange theming. This one showcases ten adult characters, many of them classics from the earlier seasons, like Chef, a stuffed figure of whom stands on a shelf in my kitchen… Sad, I know. These are rarer, with only 150 of each.
RUBY TIER
We’re starting to get into very rare territory here with the 50-per-design Ruby tier. Each of these depicts one of the more esoteric characters, from Towelie and Mr. Hankey (the Christmas Poo), to Timmy and Satan.
SAPPHIRE TIER
The blue theming brings Sapphire Tier to the table, and at only 30 per design, good luck getting one of these. The characters are also considerably more left-field, and only fans will recognise them all.
AMETHYST TIER
Purple brings the first real change to the look of the coins, with the gilded Cartman character coins, and there are a scant 20 of each being struck. My personal favourite designs, but functionally unavailable without considerable investment.
ONYX TIER
This one, a quarter-ounce solid gold coin (not gilded), features the four major characters in outline form on the reverse, with the first line of the title song inscribed on the obverse. Only 10 of these will be randomly inserted into the two-coin boxes.
THE NEW GOLDEN AGORO
A new addition to the Trading Coin concept, a solitary, randomly inserted, one-ounce gold ‘Dead Kenny’ coin joins the line-up. Each box has a ticket in a sleeve, with all but one bearing bad tidings. One person will use up their luck for the year and get this coin, which has to be redeemed. It’s important to point out, that the odds are 1 in 2505 boxes that you will get this coin. A fantastic design that I hope will return in silver form as a solo release.
OBVERSE IMAGES
COMMON PROOF SILVER COIN
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