We’re kicking off our wander through six new coins with an absolute stunner. Called ‘Goddess of Water’, it depicts Amphitrite, the wife of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. While her antagonistic husband is a popular subject on coins, along with the whole Greek pantheon, I can’t remember another coin featuring his Mrs, who is described as being calm and benevolent.

This is, straight-up, a beautiful design. The depiction of the woman is amongst the best we’ve ever seen – just look at those eyes and mouth. Even the skin texture is present. The flowing hair and aquatic background frame her perfectly, and circling her, in an almost yin-yang style, are a pair of gilded fish, to match her gilded eyeballs. Everything is lushly detailed.

The use of gilding over black proof is rarely a bad decision, and it works brilliantly here. The obverse is less extravagant, just the emblem of Palau (which is quite nautical in its own right), with a semi-border made of waves., but obviously, the reverse face is the star here. For me, easily one of the best releases of the year.

Who doesn’t love a good UFO story? One of the many in the United States, is alleged to have taken place in New Mexico, on 24th April 1964. A local police office, Lonnie Zamora, stated that he witnessed two figures standing next to a shiny object, which subsequently lifted off with flames emanating from underneath it.

It’s all nonsense, of course, possibly a prank perpetuated to increase tourism (just look at Roswell, for example), but it stuck, and it became what Socorro is now associated with. The coin does a great job of showcasing, whether intentionally or not, the absurdity of it all. A pair of classic ‘Grey’s’ stand in front of their craft, while Officer Zamora hides behind a rock in shock.

There are so many neat little touches on this one, Officer Zamora, actually looks like his real-life namesake, right down to the detailing on his cap, and the car is equally well detailed. I love the expression on the cop’s face! Colouring is restrained, and overall, it’s a cool scene. The obverse from the first issue, Roswell, returns unchanged, and depicts a view through the craft’s window in space. Gotta love this one…

Next year is the Lunar Year of the Snake, my own symbol in fact, so obviously, the numismatic world has shown its usual high level of interest. We’ve actually reached the stage where 2025 coins were being revealed before the 2024 lunar year had even started, but at least MDM sensibly kept their releases closer to the actual changeover on 29th January.

The most striking of them is this fully dimensional Cobra, cast, of course, but impressive regardless. The snake is partly coiled, forming a base for the coin, but the rest arches up in that menacing manner that Cobras are noted for. The hooded head, open mouth, even having curved fangs are what makes this so excellent.

It’s all finished in a uniform black colour, which just makes it extra menacing, rather than a celebration of a New Year, but who cares? If you like nature coins, especially the dangerous species that garner so much interest, this is a unique example of the type.

A mint that likes to try something new with every launch, in 2021, CIT debuted Silver Burst, a design mixing a natural face, and a geometric explosion of fragments, raising the question of just how much the human mind can take from the massive influx of information and emotions that bombard us every day, before it gives way. They followed this up in 2022 and 2023, with more complex variations on the same theme.

For 2024, they’ve kept the design ethos, but applied it for the first time to the animal kingdom. The Bald Eagle is an icon, and the depiction here is stunning. Rather than hint at an explosion under pressure, here you can almost feel the bird being assembled from the shards at high speed. The high relief is exquisite, and there’s a depth and dynamism hike from the first three issues. The Bald Eagle on coins has almost become a tired, unadventurous trope, but designs like this shake up that perception.

Masters of the pop-culture coin, Agoro (from the NZ Mint), continues to delve into Disney’s vast catalogue for their latest issue. Coco is an animated film, released in 2017, which was a massive hit, grossing well over $800 million at the box-office, and breaking into the top-20 grossing animated movies of all time. It tells the story of a young man, who travels to the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather.

Day of the Dead art seems to be a popular source of inspiration in coins these days, so this release seems well-timed in that regard. It’s not a complex coin, shaped like a skull, but otherwise just standard relief, and coloured, but it does encapsulate the characters and the story well, and what else does it need to do? As always with Agoro, the presentation is top-notch, and this will make a good gift for the film’s many fans.

You have to hand it to the Mennica Polska, subjects don’t get any more esoteric than Indonesian puppet storytelling, but kudos for them not only going for it, but succeeding with this elegant design. Wayang originated in Java, where it remains popular to this day, held for a wide variety of rituals and ceremonies, like weddings, and Independence Day, for example. Rather than try to explain it, check the video, which does a better job than I ever could.

The coin is a simple one, eschewing even high-relief, which, given the flat nature of the puppets, was no doubt a conscious decision. The design seems to perfectly encapsulate Wayang theatre’s traditional style, and the use of gilded outlining over a black finish is an inspiring one, creating a formal elegance, and high contrast. The obverse is dull, incorporating nothing of the theme, with just the Public Seal of Niue. Packaging is neat enough, for this unusual release.