Elephants, pandas, dinosaurs, silkpunk, Slavic myths, and eagles star in a wide selection for our latest bullion coin round-up (Week 44, 2024)

As promised, we’re back with another Wednesday collection of new bullion issues. We’re going to settle on one of these every two weeks, rather than weekly, to keep the number of coins per post up, given the haphazard release schedule compared to collectible coins, of which there are many more to choose from. That doesn’t mean there won’t be one in the gaps, but at least this will keep it at a fundamentally steady rate.

Nevertheless, it’s a big selection this time around, with a mix of the big guns (Panda, Elephant, African Ounce), and some arguably more interesting stuff, especially a perpetual favourite of ours, Prehistoric Life, now on its second series of 12. The Mint of GdaÅ„sk expands its offerings, as does the Royal Canadian Mint, who’ve always had a big presence in the market.

We’ll let the images do most of the talking. These articles are time-consuming to put together, and you all know most of these anyway, so I’ll keep the text lighter than usual. Let me know in the comments what you think. Enjoy.

PREHISTORIC LIFE II: 2024 SUCHOMIMUS (Emporium Hamburg)

2024 TRICERATOPS

You already know what I think of this series – it has dinos on it – but my own bias doesn’t alter the fact this is an attractive, and well-balanced series. This is Prehistoric Life II, which started in 2024, and will continue until its twelfth issue in late 2027. The first series ended last year, and can be seen in our bullion profile.

We didn’t cover the first 2024 issue, the iconic Triceratops, but the second came out a little while ago, and features a theropod predator, Suchomimus, which is a relative of the legendary beast, Spinosaurus. Both designs are first class. The third and last 2024 release is coming very soon, and depicts Utahraptor, in what is another great piece of art.

The range continues to consist of a 1 oz silver coin in either cleanly struck, or coloured versions. In addition, there’s a minigold coin. A sensible selection, more affordable than most, especially given golds stratospheric appreciation of late. Available to order now. I’m still debating whether or not to add these to the first series profile, or create a new one, although I’m leaning toward the former.

DENOMINATION COMPOSITION DIMENSIONS FINISH MINTAGE
20 Francs (Congo) 31.1 g of 0.9999 silver 38.6 mm B/Unc 10,000
20 Francs (Congo) 31.1 g of 0.9999 silver 38.6 mm B/Unc, Colour 2,000
100 Francs (Congo) 0.5 g of 0.9999 gold 11.0 mm Proof 2,000

SLAVIC BESTIARY: 2023 DOMOWIK (Mint of Gdańsk)

The Mint of Gdańsk continues to make inroads into the limited-mintage bullion coin market, turning some of its fine numismatics into the simpler format for the stacker. The latest is the Domowik, which first came out in three-ounce, antique-finished form back in 2022, and was the second in the Slavic Bestiary series.

We really liked that original coin, and the producer has managed to keep much of it, sans high-relief, intact for the silver bullion. The original design was perhaps a little too packed with detail, as this one is perhaps a little overwhelmed for the strike, but we’re really just nit-picking. It’s terrific to see such niche themes represented, rather than just another nature coin, or national symbol, for example.

The obverse is pretty, and also a nice upgrade from the usual bland effigy and/or coat-of-arms. There are two weights on offer, with both the 1 oz and the 2 oz having the same diameter, effectively making the bigger coin a piedfort. Mintages are really low, so this may be one to snap up quickly.

DENOMINATION COMPOSITION DIAMETER FINISH MINTAGE
500 Francs CFA (Cameroon) 31.1 g of 0.999 silver 38.61 mm B/Unc 1,000
1,000 Francs CFA (Cameroon) 62.2 g of 0.999 silver 38.61 mm B/Unc 2,000

AFRICAN OUNCE : 2025 MARTIAL EAGLE (Numistrade)

Now this one, the African Ounce, is a real granddaddy of the bullion market, launching back in 2008, making the 2025 coin the 18th to date, the 19th if you consider the 2023 reissue of the original design as an ‘Anniversary Edition’. Every year sees a new design, although not really a wholly new one.

About 60% of the reverse face remains unchanged, depicting a relief map of Africa, and an inscribed border. The annual change is centred on an animal, that fills the gap in the coin to the west face of the continent, and for 2025, it’s the Martial Eagle, only the third time a bird has featured (Shoebill and Pelican in 2019 and 2022). A very nice design.

The series has had 1 oz silver and 1 oz gold coins for some time, but the 2025 introduces an all-new 1/12th oz gold coin, about 2.6 grams, to the line-up. Again, this is a clever acknowledgement of golds rise to unaffordability of late. You can also see the proof silver coin above, which is fundamentally the same as the bullion except for the quality of strike.

DENOMINATION COMPOSITION DIMENSIONS FINISH MINTAGE
50 Francs (Rwanda) 31.1 g of 0.999 silver 40.0 mm B/Unc. Open until 31/12/25
50 Francs (Rwanda) 31.1 g of 0.999 silver 40.0 mm Proof 1,000
100 Francs (Rwanda) 2.6 g of 0.999 gold 25.0 mm B/Unc. 1,000
100 Francs (Rwanda) 31.1 g of 0.999 gold 40.0 mm B/Unc. 100

THE ROCKIES, BULL & BEAR, CANADA GOOSE (Royal Canadian Mint)

The Canadian Maple Leaf is an absolute behemoth in bullion circles, but the Royal Canadian Mint also offers a wide range of other designs, often nature-themed, much like the Perth Mint. There have been three new additions of late, all tipping the scales at two-ounces of silver. They share a simple effigy obverse, with a pattern of radiating lines to enhance security.

The first design, by Julius Csotonyi, is a fine take on the Bull & Bear motif popular in financial circles. This theme can often come across as a little crass, but there’s none of that here. A favourite artist of mine, because his work depicting prehistoric creatures and habitats is just phenomenal.

The second, by Steve Hepburn, is a terrific, sedate look at the Canadian Rockies, a beautiful part of the world. It can’t be easy to show off that magnificence on a colourless little disc of metal, but it looks like he’s made short work of it with this pretty piece of artwork, featuring Crowfoot Mountain, and Bow Lake, located within Banff National Park in Alberta.

Finally, Steve Hepburn has produced a new take on the classic Canada Goose, a bird with an attitude! An absolutely beautiful depiction of this iconic bird in flight over a forest vista. All three are examples of the RCM at its best.

DENOMINATION COMPOSITION DIAMETER FINISH MINTAGE
$10 CAD (Canada) 62.29g of 0.999 silver 38.0 mm B/Unc Uncapped

AFRICAN WILDLIFE : 2025 SOMALI ELEPHANT (Emporium Hamburg)

The Somali Elephant is even older than the African Ounce, tracing its debut back to 2004. Unlike the African Ounce, the Elephant has concentrated on the one animal, but depicted in a whole range of scenes and poses, sometimes with a single animal, sometimes with several.

For 2025, there’s a classic head-on view of a big elephant in front of a steppe scene. It’s another fine depiction, complete with the signature sun/moon in the sky. Very nice indeed, not particularly original, but after two decades, it must be getting harder to pull that off. The key point is, the design is attractive, anatomically correct, and in line with prior designs.

There are three silver variants, and five gold, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are numerous other specials, including proof coins, high-relief coins, a coloured kilo, and sets called ‘Night & Day’, amongst others, that we really should cover in an article of its own. For the bullion stacker, there remains plenty of choice.

DENOMINATION COMPOSITION DIMENSIONS FINISH MINTAGE
100 Shillings (Somalia) 31.1 g of 0.9999 silver 38.6 mm B/Unc Uncapped
100 Shillings (Somalia) 31.1 g of 0.9999 silver 38.6 mm B/Unc, Colour 5,000
100 Shillings (Somalia) 31.1 g of 0.9999 silver 38.6 mm B/Unc, Gilded 3,000
2,000 Shillings (Somalia) 1,000 g of 0.9999 silver 100.0 mm B/Unc Uncapped
20 Shillings (Somalia) 0.5 g of 0.9999 gold 11.0 mm Proof 5,000
100 Shillings (Somalia) 3.1 g of 0.9999 gold 20.0 mm B/Unc Uncapped
200 Shillings (Somalia) 7.78 g of 0.9999 gold 26.0 mm B/Unc Uncapped
500 Shillings (Somalia) 15.55 g of 0.9999 gold 33.0 mm B/Unc Uncapped
1,000 Shillings (Somalia) 31.1 g of 0.9999 gold 38.6 mm B/Unc Uncapped

THE PUNK UNIVERSE: 2024 SILKPUNK (Mint of Gdańsk)

The second of the Mint of GdaÅ„sk’s new bullion coins is this release in their ‘The Punk Universe’ program. Again, this program is mainly numismatic in nature, featuring a range of high-end designs, but as they did with their first Cyberpunk issue, they’ve produced a bullion variant for this second one.

Called Silkpunk, it is, like Cyberpunk, an all-new design made just for the bullion, so a different approach to that used for the Slavic Bestiary range. Silkpunk is a merging of Cyberpunk with East Asian cultural styles, and the design taps into that with a pretty portrait of a subtly cyber-enhanced Japanese woman. Mount Fuji, and a traditional pagoda building, fill the background field.

Silkpunk has the same two variants as Domowik, 1 oz and 2 oz, but instead of going the piedfort route for the bigger format, the producer has gone with a wider diameter, which we think is far better for the collector, although the stacker may have a different view. A nice addition to a very under-represented genre in bullion.

DENOMINATION COMPOSITION DIAMETER FINISH MINTAGE
500 Francs CFA (Cameroon) 31.1 g of 0.999 silver 38.61 mm B/Unc 10,000
1,000 Francs CFA (Cameroon) 62.2 g of 0.999 silver 50.0 mm B/Unc 3,000

2025 CHINESE PANDA (Bank of China)

If you thought the African Ounce, and the Somali Elephant series were old boys, then the Chinese Panda would like to have a word. It debuted in 1982, and in 2021, celebrated its 40th anniversary! It still chugs along with its cute and often humorous designs, featuring one or more of this incredibly iconic animal.

The 2025 coin features a family scene with three animals, two playing, and one dossing on a rock, probably the man of the house… There’s bamboo all around, of course. There are no surprises here, and regular buyers of these coins will find little to complain about. Others may find the weight system a little odd, but it really isn’t that important. The images we have, to be honest, suck, but getting better resolution versions is just ridiculously difficult, which explains why dealers use the same barely better than thumbnails that we have.

A very wide range, encompassing one silver, and five gold bullion variants, and there are multiple proof versions in weights up to a kilo. A classic of the bullion world continues to power its way through it fifth decade.

DENOMINATION COMPOSITION DIMENSIONS FINISH MINTAGE
10 Yuan (China) 30.0 g of 0.999 silver 40.0 mm B/Unc. 10,000,000
10 Yuan (China) 1.0 g of 0.999 gold 10.0 mm B/Unc 500,000
50 Yuan (China) 3.0 g of 0.999 gold 18.0 mm B/Unc 500,000
100 Yuan (China) 8.0 g of 0.999 gold 22.0 mm B/Unc 200,000
200 Yuan (China) 15.0 g of 0.999 gold 27.0 mm B/Unc 200,000
500 Yuan (China) 30.0 g of 0.999 gold 32.0 mm B/Unc 1,000,000