The third issue in Dutch producer Numiscollect’s ‘Our Earth Ecosystems’ series is available to order now, and following Polar, and Rainforest issues, we move on to ‘Deserts’, likely something coming to a region near you in the next fifty years… The range features a look at the typical flora and fauna associated with one of the major ecosystem types on Earth, with its signature element being a thick coloured rim.

The rim of ‘Deserts’ is the colour of sand, of course, and the reverse face depicts some of the tough, hardy plants that exist in these environments, along with some iconic animal inhabitants, like the camel, a fox, a snake, and everyone’s favourite thing to find in their sleeping bag, a scorpion. An image of the Earth, overlaid on a coloured desert scene, sits to the right, and the globe is neatly placed to show us a view of the world’s most famous desert, the Sahara, from space.

A good addition to the series, although our personal favourite remains the rainforest coin, and one that continues to bode well for an attractive set on completion. This is a two-ounce, double-thickness 38.61 mm diameter coin, struck to a proof finish, and supplied boxed with a Certificate of Authenticity. The mintage is set at 499 pieces.